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JOURNAL
OP THE
ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL,
EDITED BY
THE SECKETARY.
VOL. XV.
•' It will flourish, if naturalists, chemists, antiquari
in different parts ot Asia will commit their observatic
Asiatic Society at Calcutta. It will langruish if such
mitted ; and it will die away if they shall entirely ceaae,"— Sir Wm . Jones.
CALCUTTA :
BISHOP'S COLLEGE PRESS.
1846.
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INDEX TO VOL. XV.
Page
Canal Act of the Emperor Akbar with some notes and remarks on
the History of the Western Jumna Canals, By Lieut. Yule, Engineers,
First Assistant W. J. C, 213
Coast of Coromandel, from Pennour to Pondicherry ; Notes, chiefly
Geological, on the. By Capt. Newbold, 204
Coins of Arakan ; The Historical. By Capt. A. P. Phayre, Principal
Assistant Commissioner, Arakan, 232
; The Symbolical. By Lieut. T. Latter, 238
. the Independent Muhammadan Sovereigns of Bengal,
by J. W. Laidlay, Co-Secretary, 323
Fauna of the Nicobar Islands ; Notes on the. By E. Blyth, Curator of
the Museum of the Asiatic Society, • 367
Geological features of Zillah Behar, Note on the. By W. S. Sherwill,
B. N. I. Revenue Surveyor, 55
Hill Tribes on the Kuladyne River ; a note on some. By Lieut. T. Latter,
(67th N. I.) of the Arakan Local Battalion, 60
Koompta on the Western Coast (S. India) by the Devamunni and
Nundibannama Passes, easterly to Cumbum, and thence southerly to
Chittoor ; Notes, chiefly Geological, from ; comprising a notice of the
I>iamond and Lead Excavations of Buswapur. By Capt. Newbold, . . 380
Mammalia inhabiting the Malayan Peninsula and Islands ; Catalogue
of : Collected or Observed by Theodore Cantor, M, D. Bengal Medi-
cal Service, i .,• . . . 171—241
New or Little known Species of Birds, Notices and Descrifttions of vari-
ous. By E. Blyth, Esq., Curator, Museum Asiatic Society, 1 — ^280
Nicobar Islands ; Notice of the. By the Rev. P. Barbe, 344
Proceedings of the Asiatic Society for January, 1846, (79) i; for
February, (171) xvii; March (241) xxiii; for April (323) xxvii ; for
May (397) xxxm ; for June xti ; for July xlvii ; for September Ixvii.
— ^Ixxv; for October Ixxix ; for November Ixxxv ; for December ciii.
Seiingapatam, by the Hegulla Pass, to Cannanore; Notes, chiefly
Geological, from. By Capt. Newbold, 315
Shatool and Booran Passes over the Himalaya, Diary of an Excursion
to the, in September 1845. By Capt. Madden, Bengal Artillery,. ... 79
Tibetan Antelope ; Description of a new species of; with plates. By
B. H. Hodgson, Esq. Darjeeling, 334
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iv Index.
Page
Western Coast ofSouth India ; Notes, chiefly Geological, on the. By
Capt. Newbold, ' 224
Zoology of Candahar and the neighbouring districts ; Rough notes on
the. By Capt. T. Hutton of the Invalids, Mussoori, with Notes by
Edward Blyth, Esq. Curator, Museum Asiatic Society (continued
from Vol. XIV. page 354), 135
Index to Names of Contributors.
Barbe, Rev. P. Notice of the Nicobar Islands, 344
Blyth, Ed. Esq. Notices and Discriptions of various New or Little
Known Species of Birds, , 1 — ^280
Notes on the Fauna of the Nicobar Islands, 367
Cantor, Theodore, M. D. Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting the Mala-
yan Peninsula and Islands, ^ 171— r24l
Hodgson, B. H. Esq. Description of a new Species of Tibetan Ante-
lope, 334
Hutton, Capt. T. Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar and the
neighbouring districts, 135
Laidlay, J. W. Esq., on the Coins of the Independant Muhammadan
Sovereigns of Bengal, 323
Latter, Lieut. T. A Note on some Hill Tribes on the Kuladyne River,
Arakan, 60
■^ The Symbolical Coins of Arakan, 238
Madden, Capt. Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool and Boorun Pass-
es, over the Himalaya, in Sept. 1845, . , ,. 79
Newbold, Capt. Notes, chiefly Geological, on the coast of Coromandel,
from Pennaur to Pondicherry, 204
Notes, chiefly Geological, on the Western coast of South
India, , 224
— — ^— — — Notes, chiefly Geological, from Seringapatam, by the
HeguUa Pass to Cannanore, 315
Notes, chiefly geological, from Koompta on the Western
Coast (South India) by the Devamimni and Nundibunnama Passes,
easterly to Cumbum, and thence southerly to Chittoor ; comprising
a notice of the Diamond and Lead Excavations of Buswapur, 380
Phayre, Capt. A. P. The Historical Coins of Arakan, 232
Sherwill, Lieut. W. S. Note on the geological features of the Zillah
Bahar, 55
Yule, Lieut. A Canal Act of the Emperor Akbar with some notes and
remarks on the History of the Western Jumna Canals^ 213
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JOURNAL
ASIATIC SOCIETY.
Notices and Descriptions of various New or Little Known Species of
Birds, By £o. Blyth, Curator of the Asiatic Society's Museum,
[Continued from Vol. XIV, p. 602].
Buzzards. Archibuteo hemiptUopus^ nobis. Nearly allied to the Mexican
Arch, regalis, figured by Mr. 6. R. Gray in his illustrated work on the
' G^era of Birds' ; having the tarsi, as in that species, feathered to the
toes in front and externally, bare and scutated behind, and reticulated
for a slight distance on either side, the latter being hidden by the
feathers. Length, of probably a fine female, about twenty-eight inches,
the wing twenty and a quarter, and tail thirteen inches; beak, from
point to gape, two inches ; and tarse exceeding three inches. Colour
(of the only specimen examined) a rich deep fuscous-brown, slightly
glossed with pink on the upper.parts; the inter-scapularies shading
laterally to fulvescent : on the nape, the feathers are merely tipped with
dusky-brown, the remainder being pure white, which shews very conspi-
cuously : head mingled whitish and brown, the latter predominating
on the crown, the former on the lower ear-coverts and throat : from the
base of the lower mandible proceeds a large blackish moustache : breast
fulvescent, the feathers more or less largely tipped with deep brown ;
and the abdomen, flanks, vent, lower tail- coverts, with the long tibial
and the tarsal plumes, are of an uniform rich very dark brown throughout,
approaching to blackish : primaries dusky, paler above the emargination
of their outer webs, and the smaller primaries and the secondaries are
No. 169. No. 85, Nbw Sebibs. b
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2 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
obscurely, though distinctly, banded : internally, the large alars are white
at base, as in other Buzzards : tail barred throughout with many narrowish
undulating bands, alternately dusky and paler, becoming successively
more obscure towards the base, and the subterminal dusky band
broadish ; beneath, the tail is albescent to near its base, and the stems
of. the caudal feathers are very white, both above and below. Beak
dusky horn-coloured, yellowish laterally at base of mandibles, and with
apparently a livid wax-coloured cere : the toes also, and hind portion of
the tarsi, livid waxy ; and the talons horny-black. A very splendid
species, from Darjeeling.
Another fine Buzzard, the Buteo aquilinus, Hodgson, nobis, J, A. S.
(March) 1845, p. 176, has since been described by Mr. Hodgson by
the name B.^leucocephalus, in Proc, ZooL Soc, (April) 1845, p. 21,
where he speaks of it as " peculiar to the Gachar and Tibet." I repeat
my former suggestion, that it is probably the Falco asiaticus of Latham,
described to inhabit China.
A third was described by Mr. Hodgson, in the ' Bengal Sporting
Magazine,' for 1836, p. 182, by the name Circus plutnipes, which he has
since altered to Buteo plumipes, Proc. Zool, Soc. 1845, p. 37, though
retaining his opinion of its near affinity to Circus*
A fourth is the B. canescens, Hodgson, (vide J, A. S, XII, 308,) which
is decidedly the ' Nasal Falcon' of Latham ; and Mr. Jerdon now iden-
tifies with it his B. longipes, and I much suspect that B. rufiventer,
Jerdon, is merely a small male of the same. Also, I think that B. pec^
toralis, Vieillot, will prove to be no other, in which case this last speci-
fic name will have to be retained. I have procured specimens of this
bird in the neighbourhood of Kishenaghur and Moorshedabad* in Lower
Bengal, and have picked up an undoubted feather of it in a mangoe tope
much nearer to Calcutta ; but in the vicinity of Calcutta it must be
very rare, if it occurs at all ; preferring a more open country.
* Mr. Hodgson has recently written me word that the Buteo plutnipes^ loc. cit.^ ** is
a Circus osculant to Buteo, as B. aquilinus (v. leucocephalus ) is a Buteo osculant to
AquUa. The latter is not a typical Buteo or ^rcAi&u^eo, "^witness its reticulate tarse,
.&c. &c. This species is inserted incorrectly in the * Proceedings of the Zoological
Society.' instead ofplumipes belonging ** to Buteo proper and not to Circus," it should
have been * belongs not to Buteo but to Circus.*— This species 1 have never seen,
but must confess to theoretical doubts of its truly connecting Circus with Buteo: the
latter genus and Aquila, on the other hand, are very closely allied, in fact but slight
modifications of the same immediate subtype ; and species of intermediate character
might have been looked for.
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 3
B, pygmteus, nobis, J, A, 3, 1845» p. 177, is a fifth decided species,
from the Tenasserim provinces.
To the genus Spizaetus of Vieillot, Mr. G. R. Gray refers Nisa^tus of
Mr. Hodgson as a synonyme (as I formerly did, in J. A, S. XI, 456,
and XII, 305) ; thus bringing together certain species of the Old World
and of the New, concerning which suspicion at least of respective generic
diversity had been entertained. Morphnus of Cuvier, however, which had
generally been placed as synonymous with Spizaetus, is confined by Mr.
Gray to certain naked-legged species of South America, as M, urubi-
tinga and its affines ; and, finally, Limna^tus, Vigors, is referred by the
same systematist to Spizaetus, though to judge from Dr. Horsfield's
figure and description of L. unicolor (its type), he would scarcely seem
justified in doing so.
Upon a former occasion (ante, p. 176), I indicated the four Indian
species of undoubted Spizaetus (vel Nisaetus), after describing what I
conceived to be a new species of the form from Malacca, by the name
NisaStus alboniger,* This last, however, proves to be decidedly the
true Falco caligatus of Rafiies, (as was first pointed out to me by my
friend Dr. Cantor,) and will therefore now range as Sp, caligatus,
(Rafiies) : consequently, it remains to determine what specific name
the common Bengal species, which I formerly conceived to be cali-
gatus, should retain; and this will probably be nipalensis, (Hodgson,)
since considerable doubt must attach at present to the identification
of it with the Javanese Falco niveus of Temminck. The species in
question is the Bauj Eagle and Nerwied Eagle of Latham, but does not
appear to have received a distinctive systematic name prior to that
bestowed by Mr. Hodgson, and which should refer exclusively^ to his
supposed crestless variety of the species, which usually presents a mere
rudiment of an occipital crest, very rarely further developed ; though I
have obtained one middle-aged specimen (out of several dozens,) with a
crest two inches long.f This bird would appear to be very rare in the
Himalaya, while in the plains of Lower Bengal it is extremely numer-
ous. I lately saw one specimen in a large collection from Darjeeling :
but Mr. Hodgson's supposed crested variety of the species, subsequently
* Also described under this name by Lord Arthur Hay, Madr* Journ. No XXXI,
145.
t More recently, also, another and younger specimen, with a slight crest, though still
very unusually developed for the species.
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4 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
termed by him N. paliidus, and which I refer to Falco indicns cirtatus
of Ray (v. F, cirratus, Shaw), seems to be exclusively a hill bird, as are
also our other crested species, Sp, pukher and 8p, Kieneri.
The variation in development of crest here noticed of Sp. nipaknsis,
is both curious and instructive : a tendency to such prolongation of the
central occipital plumes being observable in various other F^lconidte,
as especiaUy in HieraStus (Kaup, v. AquUa,) pennmtus, and slightly in
Buteo caneseens ; while in the Indian Pemis, which is currently regarded
as a peculiar species by the name P. cristata, the crest is very com-
monly reduced to a mere rudiment (which might remain unnoticed if
not looked for), while in other specimens the feathers composmg it are
prolonged an inch beyond those they immediately impend. Hence I
have some suspicion whether the species is really distinct from P.
apivora ; and I also doubt whether more than a single species of this
very variable l»rd has been yet discovered. All those which are men*
tioned by Mr. G. R. Gray, I would thus provisionally reduce to one,
with the exception of my Lophastur Jerdani, (J. A. 8, XI, 464,) which
is erroneously referred by Mr. Gray to this genus ; it being strictly
an aberrant Baza, and perhaps identical with B. nmgnirostris of the
Philippine Islands, mentioned by Mr. G. R. Ghray, though I suspect as
yet undescribed.* While on this group, I may further remark that
Buteo cristatus, Vieillot, has been currently regarded as a synonyme of
Baza lophotes ; but, as described in the Diet. Class. ^ where moreover
Australia is assigned as its habitat, it can neither be B. iophotes nor
B, subcristata figured in Goukl's ' Birds of Austndia' ; and if not a *' Bus9
Bondr4e Hupp4e" as he terms it (or Honey Buzzard), it is not impro-
bably the young of Aquila ? morphnoides, Gould, exhibiting a coloration
analogous to that of the immature plumage of its nearly allied congener,
Hiera^tus pennatus, and in such case ranking as H, cri9$atus, (Vieillot).
* I had scarcely written the above, when the Society received a second fine collection
of Scandinavian objects of Natural History from the University of Christiania. A
specimen of Pemia aipwora is included, and I find the species is distinct from P*
eristata : the great variation of plumage is the same in both, and the varieties corres-
pond; but in P. apivora^ in addition to there not being the slightest tendency to the
formation of an occipital crest, the beak is conspicuously smaller, and the toes are
much shorter. Thus, in two specimens of exactly the same general dimensions, the
middle toe of P. apwora^ from its separation from the next to the insertion of the
talons, measures an inch and a half; while in P* crisiata it measures an inch and
seven-eighths, with the rest of the foot in proportion. The reticulate flcutatioB pf the
leg and foot is also much mora prominent than in P. apivora.
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1846.] or LiHlt Known Specu$ of Birds. 5
Among the true Hawks, we have a similar occipital crest in Aatur
trwirfmtuSi (Tern.,) to whkh may be referred A. miicui, Hodgson, (Beng.
Sp, Mag, 1S36, p. 177.) it being also the supposed A, palvmbarims of
Mr. Jerdon's Catalogue. The Society has lately received fine specimens
of this Goshawk from Y^ (Tenasserim), formu:^ part of a valuable collec-
tion from that province, presented by the Rev. J. Barbe, R. C. M.**"
Of Indian true Afuila, as Mr. G. R. Gray now adopts the genus,
as many as nine species exist, wluch are as follow :«^1. Tohna^tutf
Bonellit the Niea^us grundtM, Hodgson, and ' Genoese Eagle' of I<atham :
peculiar to hilly regions.'*^2, Aq. ehrysaetot: Himalaya, and perhaps
Col. Sykes's Dukhun bird, though Mr. Jerdon's supposed 'Golden
Eagle' of South India, refers to die next species.*— 3, Aq. mogUnik^
imperutlis, and heliaca^ Auct. India gena«lly, chiefly however the
mountains. Of this robustly formed Eagle, there are two phases
of plumage. One is liie dark brown, with pale head and nuchal plumes,
bkcki^ forehead and throat, and often a great white patch on
the shoulder: the other has pale central stripes to the feathers of the
back, which are much broader on tiiose of the neck and under-parts,
where they have merely dark lateral margins, and the wing also is more
(MT less spotted ; in the latter plumage, the feathers of the back and
especially those of the breast and under*part8 are considerably more
lengUiened, attenuated and pomted, than in the other ; uid the dress
certainly does not appear to be juvenile, • but analogous rather to the
^K>tted garb of Aq, ntevia. To judge from Hardwicke and Gray's
figure, it might be thought the immature plumage of Aq, bt/asdata, but
such is not the case. — 4, Aq. bifasciata. Gray, v. nipalensis, Hodgson,
As. Res. XVIII* pt. II, p. 13. Eqind to the last in size, but less
robust ; and ocdour a dead brown, with the secondaries and great ruige
* Dr. M*CleIUad has lately favoured me with pennission to look over his drawings
of Assamese animals ; among which is one of his Spizaelus ruJUinctus, Proc. Zool.
Soc. 18S9, p. 153, which I consider merely to represent the adult female of Astur
irwirgatus.
t This group comprises T. BonelH of Southern Europe and Asia, and I believe North
Africa; and T. helUcosus, v. armiger, (Shaw,) of South Africa. Mr. Hodgson thinks
tiiat his name Nieaetus shoold now stand for this form ; but as he has figured nipalen^
sis as the *' type of the new genus Nisa'iius,** J. A. S. Y. 227, and subsequently charac*
terized that form as short* winged, VI, 361, and elsewhere spoken of ^am2i« as «*an
aberrant species," 1 am compelled in this case to dispute his claim to the sponsorship^
however unwillingly.
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6 Notices and Descripiiotts of various New [No. 169.
of coverts tipped with fulyou8-white» forming two conspicuous bars on
the wing ; lower tail-coverts also fulvous-white, and tail tipped with the
same : wing twenty-two inches. A rare species, inhabiting mountain-
ous territory, and chiefly the Himalaya. Gapt. Phayre has favoured the
Society with a very fine specimen from Arracan. — 5, Aq, ncevia, (Om,) ;
' Spotted Eagle/ * Rough- footed Eagle/ and ' Brown-backed Eagle, Var.
A', of Latham. A beautiful and very variable species in its colouring,
allied in form to the last, but smaller ; and larger, but less robust, than
the next. Fine adult males are richly empurpled brown, with fulvous-
white terminal stripes, more or less developed, on the interscapularies,
scapularies, and smaller wing- coverts ; larger and pure white spots on the
greater coverts, and two white bars tipping the secondaries and largest
coverts, as in Aq» Tfi/asciata ; tibial plumes similarly spotted, the under
tail-coverts and generally the short tarsal plumes white, and the abdomen
streaked with fulvous ; cere, orbits, and toes, beautiful yellow : wing
generally about twenty inches. Others have the streaks of the upper
parts much more developed, but the white dingy and subdued, and
the dark colour generally paler : such are mostly females ; and
others again, especially of the latter sex, are dull brown throughout
(inclusive of the lower tail- coverts), with sometimes paler head and
neck-hackles, the latter being however generally, though still not
always, tipped paler. This Eagle is very common in the Bengal Soon-
derbuns, and I have seen it also from the Himalaya, and from Central
India. — 6, Aq,fulvescens, fusca, and punctata. Gray and Hardwicke : Aq.
vindhiana, Franklin. Smaller and more robust than the last, a miniature
of Aq. mogilnik ; wing eighteen or nineteen inches, rarely twenty. Some
(females ?) are uniformly deep fulvous-brown throughout : others light
fulvous, brightest upon the head and throat, obscured and dingy on the
back and scapularies, and whitish below, with dark shafts and bases of
feathers ; these appear to be the young : but the most characteristic
plumage (that of the adult male ?) is tawney or fulvous-brown, more
fulvous on the neck-hackles, which are tipped paler; head and throat
dusky, the coronal feathers tipped paler ; wings, breast, and lower-parts,
deep fuscous, the breast slightly speckled — and the belly and wings
spotted and streaked — with light tawny-brown; wing-bars, and tail-
tip, as in the two preceding species. Common in the plains of Upper
India, and along the banks of the Ganges above Monghyr, also in the
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 7
peninsula ; but I have never seen it from the Himalaya, nor from the
Soonderbuna, where Aq, ncsvia is so abundant. — 7, Aq, hastata,* Morphnus
hastatfis. Lesson : SpizaHus punetatus, Jerdon, Supp, This so much resem-
bles Aq, netvia, that it requires some practice to distinguish the two species
always, wilii certainty ; and the same may be said of Aq, ntevid and Aq,
/ulvescens ; but the last named species could never be confounded with
the present one. It is altogether a more feeble bird than Aq, nama^ with
smaller bill and feet, and proportionally somewhat longer tarsi, but
which appear considerably more so from their slendemess. Plumage
variable ; but colour always a dead brown, as in Aq, hifasciata ; the neck-
hackles smaller than in the other species. The finest adult male
which I have procured has the coronal feathers lanceolate, and edged
paler ; a sort of supercilium formed by a range of feathers with small
whitish tips ; the nuchal hackles also tipped whitish, and the feathers of
the lower neck have each a terminal white speck ; three distinct ranges
of white terminal spots on the wings ; the tertiaries broadly whitish-
tipped ; the breast and flanks beautifully striped with a whitish medial
streak to each feather, those of the belly having a furthier central dark
one ; and the lower tail-coverts and tarsal plumes are pale and mottled.
Another adult male has the spots generally much less developed, but is
otherwise nearly similar. Females are commonly darker brown, with no
spots, except occasionally some on the smaller wing- coverts, and especi-
ally about the bend of the wing. The young are lighter brown, with
sometimes, traces of streaks on the pectoral and abdominal feathers ; and
the interscapularies and tertiaries are dark, contrasting strongly with the
whitish inner scapularies adjoining. — 8, HieraStus pennatus, (Br.) Kaup ;
SpizaStus milvoides, Jerdon : F, lagopus, Bengal variety, Latham. This
form chiefly deviates from the robust typical Eagles in its small size»
and proportionally small and Buzzard- like beak ; abo in shewing a ten-
dency to exhibit an occipital crest; in which respect, as also in the
whiteness of the under-parts in the young bird, it approximates the
SpizaHi, H, pennaius has invariably a white shoulder-spot at all ages, and
almost as constantly a white forehead. It is extensively distributed
over the country. — 9, Ictinaetus malaiensis, (Reinwardt) Jerdon ;
Aquila, Heteropus, and Neopus, pemiger, Hodgson : SpizaHusf? ovivorus,
Jerdon, Supp, Remarkable for its very long wings ; its blackish colour
throughout, varied with white bands under the tail ; and for the extraor-
dinary disproportion of its front toes and claws, of which the inner is
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8 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
particularly large, and the outer singularly email. Peculiar to mountain
regions. This bird conducts in some respects to Arekibuteo^
These several Eagles exhibit variation of habit, as of form. The
Ictinaetua is pre«eminently a nest-robber, and feeds much on eggs : vide
J. A, S. XII, 128 ; where also is a notice of the nest-plundenng pro-
pensities of Aq. kastata, under the supposition of the latter species being
Limna'ettu unieohr. The more powerful of the tribe do not di^lain to
feed on carrion; and Mr. Elliot remarks, of Ag,/ulv0$C0ns,'^**The
Wokhah is very troublesome in hawking after the sun becomes hot,
mistaking the jesses for some kind of prey, and pouncing on the Falcon
to seize it. I have 6nce or twice nearly lost ShMkeens" (F. psregrinator,)
he adds, *' in consequence, these flyi|ig to great distances for fear of the
Wokhab" This is probably, therefore, the Jimach mentioned by Bu-
chanan Hamilton, (in Montgomery Martin's compilation from his MSS*
I, 505). " The only pursuit worth notice which I saw in several days*
hawking," observes the author, " was from a large bird of prey named
Jimach, which attacked a very strong Falcon as it was hovering over
a bush into which it had driven a Partridge. The moment the Falcon
espied the Jimach it gave a scream, and flew off with the utmost
velocity, while the Jimach eagerly pursued. They were instantly
followed by the whole party, foot, horses, and elephants, perhaps 300
persons, shouting and firing with all their might, and the Falcon was
saved, but not without severe wounds, the Jimach having struck her to
the ground. I have never been able," adds Buchanan, " to procure a
Jimach ; but it appears to be a small Eagle, and is said to live entirely
on other birds of prey." Aq.fulvescens, however, is a very indiscriminate
feeder, preying on rats, lizards, snakes, insects, and sometimes even
carrion ; besides hares, and in fact whatever, living or dead, it happens
to meet with : still the fact of its attacking Falcons, or indeed of any
bird of prey attacking another, except for combat, or as when a tame
Falcon is flown at a Kite, (of Hawks thus ** picking out Hawks' een,")
is, I apprehend, little known to the majority of naturalists. Lastly,
Hieraetus pennatw is a noted robber of the dove-cot and poultry-yard ;
whose depredations, as Mr. Jerdon remarks, are probably often mistaken
for those of the Kite.
Ephialies spilocephalua, nobis, n, s. ? Noctua auribarbis (P), Hodgson,
mentioned in J. A, 8. VI, 369 : Athene badia, (?), Hodgson, enumerated
in Mr. G. R. Oray's list of the Raptorial birds in the British Museum.
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Birds, 9
Thia little Owl is certainly an Ephialtes (vei Scops^ Aact., though it
appears this latter name was first appropriated to the Crowned Cranes)*
and probably a young bird, from the loose and floccose character ofits
plumage ; but the aigrettes are not easily made out in the only speci-
men examined, though I believe that I have distinctly traced them. Its
size is that of Eph, lettia, but the bill, feet, and talons, are eonsiderably
smaller. Length about nine inches, of wing six, and tail three and a
quarter ; bill, in greatest vertical depth, seven- sixteenths of an inch ;
feathered tarse an inch and one-eighth ; length of middle toe and claw
but an inch, the claws slender, delicate, and of a whitish hue ; beak pale
yellowish, or yellowish- white. The plumage of the head is very full
and puffy, the feathers loose and light; each of them having two
pale-coloured spots, set off with blackish, and the rest of the feather
a dull light bay or tawney, a little pencilled : facial disk fulvescent.
Upper- parts uniform dull tawney, pencilled with blackish; and the ordi-
nary white spots occur on the outer scapularies : the primaries have also
a series of three white bands on the unemarginated portion of their
outer webs (the emargination being very- slight) : the secondaries and
tertiaries are principally bay on their outer webs, with imperfect blackish
bands ; and the tail is barred with the same colours in about equal
proportions, the central feathers having six tawney-rufous bands. Under«
parts paler than those above, minutely speckled with dusky, and
with some larger whitish spots set off with blackish : lower tail- coverts
white, a little barred, except the longest which are distinctly so ; the
tarsal plumes tawney-rufous, with dusky bars. From Darjeeling.*
Symiumnivicolum, Hodgson, XIV, 185. Since describing this species,
I have seen several fine specimens. One, from near Simla, presented by
L. C. Stewart, Esq., now of H. M. 50th Ft., has the wing twelve inches
and a half: colour dusky above, mottled with larger spots of fulvous*
white than in that formerly described ; but the under- parts are much
the same. Two males and a female, the former with wing eleven inches.
* Id the * Madras Journal,' No. XXXI, 120, Mr. Jerdon describes a Scops
CBpMaUesJ griseus, which s lettioides^ Jerdon, nobis, J, A. S. XIV, 182. Dr.
Stewart has recently favored the Society with a specimen, from near Futtehpore,
OD the route from Allahabad to Gawnpore^ which tends to indicate the speoifical iden-
tity of Eph. lettia and Bph. lettioides^
C
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10 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
the latter twelve and three-quarters, from Darjeeling, are dusky, with
the light mottlings much deeper fulvous, and there is a considerable
admixture of pure white below the facial disk. Not improbably these
were younger than the others.*
In XIV, 188, I suggested that Bueeros hicolor, Eyton, is probably the
B, malaharicus apud Raffles, and B, albirosiris apud Horsfield ; but I have
since seen several specimens of a Malayan species intermediate to those
two, combining the bill and casque of B. albirosiris with the size and
white outer tail-feathers of B. pica (vel malaharicus) : this. Lord Arthur
Hay considers to be B. vioiaceus, Waglerf; and the Society lately
received a young bird of the species in question from Penang. The
large head and casque referred to B, albirosiris in XII, 995, I now
consider to belong to the allied Penang species. The Society has
lately received specimens of true B* albirosiris from the Tenasserim pro-
vince of Y6, undistinguishable from the bird of Bengal, Nepal, Assam,
and Arracan : we had previously a Tenasserim specimen of the young
of B. albirosiris, presented on a former occasion by Mr. Barbe.
* The Norwegian collection has supplied us With three fine specimens of S, aluco^
all of the non*rafou8 variety, and very different from the one we previously possessed.
S. nivicolum is very nearly allied, and the under>parts of some specimens of the two
species are undistinguishable : but the dusky ground-tint is much more predominant
on the upper-parts of S, nivicolum, to an extent that the two could scarcely be con-
founded.
Here it may be remarked that the common Ninox scutellatus, which occurs in most
collections from Malacca, has, in addition to its various other synonymes« been re-
cently designated Athene malaccensis by Mr. Eyton, An. and Mag, N, H, 1845, p.
228: and in the same paper,— Crtmper gularis, (Horsfield), is termed Pycnonotus
ru/icaudatus;^Ixidia cyaniventris, nobis, ssMalacopteron aureum ;^Timalia peC"
toralis, nobis, ^Malacopteron squamatum ;^T. striata, nobis, —Brackypteryx ma*
culatus;—T. erythronotus, nobis,=-Br. nigrogularis ;^T. erytkroptera, nobi8,=^r.
acutirostris ;^Muscipeta plumosa, nobis, (of which it seems I described the female
only f)=^Phihntoma castaneum, which must accordingly be altered to Ph* plumO'
Mim;— and a state of plumage of the bird 1 described as Hemicercus cancretus (XI,
195,) is described by the name Dendrocopus sordidus, Mr. Ey ton's Ixos metallicus
would seem to be nearly allied, except in sise, to the species which I designated Bra*
chypodius melanocephalus, XIV, 176.
It is to be regretted that Capt. Charleton did not permit me to look over his collec-
tion of Malayan birds, when he had them in Calcutta; for all these useless synomymes
would then have been avoided. I offered to have them labelled for him.
t Described by his lordship in the Madras Journ. No. XXXI, p. 148: and follow-
ing this are descriptions of B. comaius, B. mahyanus, and 17. Elhoti, which last is B,
bicolor, Eyton, apud nos, and, as I still think, rightly identified with the latter.
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Hoopoes. This group is treated of in XIV, 189. I haye now to add
that the Tenasserim Hoopoe equals Upupa epops in size, but is consider-
ably more rufous, and conspicuously so on the crest, which resembles
that of U. minor of S. Africa : one specimen is also very rufous at the
shoulder of the wing, and another moderately so; bill of each two
inches and a half to forehead; and wing fire and a half to five and
three-quarters.
Haleyonida.—Todiramphus varius; Halcyon varia, Eyton, P. Z. S,
1839> p. 101. What I take to be the adult male, (and perhaps the
adult of either sex,) df this species, is a beautiful bird, the colouring of
which serves to connect Todiramphus (as exemplified by T, collaris and
T. sacer,) with Halcyon atricapillus (v. albiventer of Scopoli, a name
too inappropriate to be retained) ; but the beak is strictly that of Todiram-
phus. Length about nine inches, or nearly so ; of wing four inches,
and tail two and three-eighths ; bill to forehead (in rather the larger of
two specimens,) an inch and three-quarters ; and the gape two and a
quarter ; taise fiye-eighths of an inch. Cap green, rufescent on forehead,
and margined posteriorly with verditer ; a broad black stripe commences
at the lores, and meets its opposite behind ; above this is a slight rufous
supercilium, and below it a broad rufous streak continued to the nape,
and comprising the lower ear-coverts ; below this again, is a very large
rich purplish-blue moustache, commencing at the base of the lower
mandible : the nape and breast are brilliant ferruginous, paling on the
throat and belly, and the mantle, wings, and tail, are deep purplish-
blue, each feather touched with ultramarine-blue on the wings, while
the rump and Upper tail-coverts are vivid verditer : bordering the ferru-
gii|ou8 of the nape is a band of deep black. Bill dusky above, the rest
apparently bright yellow ; and legs probably coral-red. From Malacca.
In XIV, 1 90, 1 described a new Kingfisher from Darjeeling, by the name
Alcedo grandis; which otherwise resembling A, ispida, is as much
larger than that bird, as A, bengalensis is smaller : A. ispida is common
in Afghanistan. Another closely allied species, which perhaps has not
yet been distinguished from A, bengalensis, inhabits the Moluccas, and
which I may provisionally call A, moluccensis: this differs from A^,
bengalensis in having a vertically much deeper bill, and from all its allied
species in having the ear-coverts not rufous, but deep indigo-blue ; the
mottled feathers of the crown and neck, moustache, and wings, are also
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12 Notices and Descriptions 0/ various New [No. 169<
more of a Prussian blue than in A, grandis, ispida, and hengalensis: wing
three inches; depth of bill about three-eighths of an inch. Another
closely allied species is the A, meninting, Horsf.» v. asiatica of Swain-
son's Illustrations, which has the crown, neck, and wings, mottled indigo
blue, scarcely any moustache, the back and upper tail- coverts ultrama-
rine, and the breast and flanks deeper and richer ferruginous than in the
others. — A, biru, Horsf., is another beautiful little Malayan Kingfisher,
of a predominating light verditer-blue above and across the breast, but
the marking of its under-parts allies it to certain African Kingfishers, as
A. setnitorquatus, and another which I have been unable to determine.
Bucconida (Barbets). There are three, if not four, species of Indian
Barbets, having the general plumage of B. caniceps, Franklin, the dis-
tinctions of which may be advantageously pointed out. — 1. B, lineatus,
Vieillot, apud Diet, Class, ; described to inhabit Sumatra. Length about
ten inches, the wing five to five and a quarter. Upper-parts green,
weaker on the flanks, and still paler and more yellowish on the vent
and lower tail-coverts, spreading over the abdominal region in some:
head, neck, throat, and breast, whitish, confined on the crown to an ill
defined medial streak on each feather, the rest being dusky; on the
nape, these streaks are contracted and better defined, often upon a green
ground, and they gradually disappear on the back ; throat spotless
whitish ; the sides of the neck and breast having each feather laterally
margined with dusky-brown, the whitish however much predominating.
Common in some parts of Bengal, and in Nepal, extending westward to
the Deyrah Doon; also in Assam, Sylhet, Arracan, and the Tenasserim pro-
vinces, whence it probably extends into Sumatra. — 2. B, caniceps, Frank-
lin ; B, lineatus, apud Tickell. Rather smaller, the wing measuring
from four inches and a half to four and seven- eighths, though rarely
exceeding four and three-quarters. The general plumage also similar ;
but the head, throat, and breast, much darker ; the throat dusky-brown
instead of whitish ; and pectoral feathers with merely a narrow, ill
defined, pale central streak, often scarcely present ; lower breast paler :
the back commonly more streaked with whitish than in B, lineatus :
and, what constitutes a ready distinction of B, caniceps, the wing-coverts
aud tertiaries have each a terminal whitish speck, of which there is
never the slightest trace in the other. This species inhabits the penin.
sula generally, and Upper India, meeting B, lineatus in the Doon ; but
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i846.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 13
I have not seen it from Nepal, Bengal, or «ny of the eastern countries
which are tenanted by B. lineatus. — 3. B, viridis, Gmelin. Much smaller
than the preceding : the crown spotless dusky-brown ; mere traces of the
lineation on the neck, and scarcely any on the breast ; the throat and
breast paler than in B, caniceps ; and no whitish specks on the wings.
Inhabits the Indian peninsula, and chiefly, I believe, to the southward.-—
4 ? B. zeylanicus, Gmelin, founded on the " Yellow- checked Barbet" of
Brown's Illustrations. This is described (but not figured) to have the
*' coverts of wings green, with small white spots in the middle of each
feather :" hence, Mr. Jerdon has referred to it the B. caniceps; but as
the figure is stated to be " more than two- thirds of the size of the living
bird/' whereas it is but one-third of the linear dimensions of B,
caniceps, and but half that of B, viridis, it probably represents a distinct
species, approaching the last in size, and with the wing- specks of
B. caniceps.
Of the other Indian Barbets, two are confined to the Himalaya, B.
yrandis, Gm., and B. Franklinii, nobis. /. A. 8„ XI, 167. B. indicus
(vel philippensis) is common throughout the country, also in the
Tenasserim Provinces, and Sir Stamford Raffles includes it in his list
of Sumatran birds ; but I have never seen it from Arracan. B, asiaticus
(the Trogon asiaticus of Latham and Gmelin), vel cyanocoUis, Vieillot^
and cyanops, Cuvier, abounds in the Sub- Himalayan region, in Nepal,
Bengal, Assam, and Sylhet, but becomes comparatively rare in Arracan,
and also in the Indian peninsula. B. barbiculus, Cuv., or a species which
agrees sufficiently with the description of this in the Diet, Class., inha*
bits Malabar ; though barbiculus is said to be from the Moluccas. I add a
description of an Indian specimen, sent on loan by Mr. Jerdon. Length
five inches ; of wing three and one-eighth ; and tail an inch and three-
eighths ; bill to forehead five-eighths ; and tarse three-quarters of an inch.
General colour deep green; the forehead, around the eyes, and the
throat, crimson, the last margined with yellow; occiput and cheeks
pale blue. In Arracan, there is further the B. australis, Horsfield, v.
gularis, Tem. ; but the crimson of the cheeks, sincipita, and moustaches*
seems invariably to be much less brilliant than in Malacca specimens.
Five species occur commonly in collections from Malacca, (besides the
Caloramphus Lathami, v. Megalorhynchus spinosus of Eyton, which is there
common) : viz. B. ckrysopogon, Tem,; — B. versicolor. Raffles.; — B. armiU
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14 Notices and Descriptions 0/ various New [No. 169,
laris. Tern. ;— J5. quadricolor, Eyton ; — and B, australis, Horsf. : — a B, ^
trimaculatus. Gray, is also mentioned by Mr. Eyton from the same locality ;
and without having a specimen of his B, quadricolor, P, Z, S, 1839, p.
105, for present comparison, I rather suspect its identity with B, mysticO"
phanes, Tem., and with B, Rafflesii, Lesson, Rev, ZooL de la Soc. Cuv,*
1839, p. 139. The following description is from specimens in Lord A.
Hay's collection. Length about nine inches ; of wing three and three*
quarters ; and tail two and a quarter : bill to forehead an inch and three-
eighths ; and tarse an inch. Colour green, with an emerald margin to the*
feathers of the nape ; forehead bright yellow ; crown, throat, lores, and a
spot on the side of the breast, crimson ; beneath the eye, and middle of
fore- neck, also crimson ; sides of the crown, above and posterior to the
bare ocular region, black ; and a yellowish tinge towards the base of the
lower mandible: emarginated portion of primaries edged with dull
yellow ; and tail bluish underneath : bill, legs, and the bristles at base of
bill, black. A presumed female has the crown, lores, and spot at side of
breast, crimson, but less defined than in the (presumed) male ; throat
mingled green and yellowish, passing to bluish on the fore-neck ; fore-
head bluish, with yellow shafts to feathers, and some blue beneath the
eye and at the base of the lower mandible ; the latter is for the most
part white. Length of wing, three inches and three-quarters.
Picida. Woodpeckers. Typical Pious, apud G. R. Gray : Dendrocopus
of Swainson. I attempted a synopsis of the Indian species of this
group, in XIV, 1 96 et seq. ; since the publication of which, the Society
has been favoured by the Natural History Society of Batavia with a very
interesting collection from Java and the Moluccas, which has enabled
me to compare various Indian species with their Malayan represen*
tatives. Among them is the little Picus moluccensis, which, though
closely approaching to the Indian species referred to the same,
yet exhibits some differences upon minute comparison. Both are
certainly distinct from P. canicapillus of Arracan. As compared with the
Indian species, that of Java has rather larger bill and feet ; the crown
is darker-coloured, passing to blackish, or deeply infuscated, on the
occiput and median line of nape ; the wings are shorter, measuring two
inches and seven- eighths, while in the Indian species they are three and
one sixteenth ; and, lastly, there is a diffierence in the barring of the
tail-feathers, and in the form of the tips of the more outer ones, which
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 15
in the Indian bird are more rounded, or somewhat truncated, with a
slight emargination at the tip of the shaft, while in the Javanese bird
they attenuate and are obtusely pointed ; the white bars also assume
more the appearance of transverse bands in the Javanese species, and
of separated round spots in that of India ; while the outermost feather
is in the former tipped with white, and the penultimate has an all but
terminal white bar, both these feathers in the Indian bird being broadly
black-tipped, with a more interrupted white bar above. Should these
'differences prove constantly distinctive, Mr. Jerdon proposes the name
Hardwickii for that of Southern India,* and which Dr. Stewart has re*
cently obtained near Cawnpore, a vicinity in which it was also procured
by Gen. Hardwicke.
With a few Australian birds, I lately purchased a Woodpecker, allied
to P. Macei, which I have not been able to determine. There is no
season to suppose it inhabits Australia, where not a single Woodpecker
has yet been discovered ; and while the known Australian species in
this small collection (including Eudynamys australis, Sw., quite distinct
from the Indian Coel,) were brought as skins, the Woodpecker alone was
mounted and wired. General aspect that of P. Macei ; but with merely a
faint tinge of red on the lower tail-coverts, and that of the crown is also
much less developed, but slightly tipping the feathers, which elsewhere
are black (there is an appearance, however, of the crimson having been
much abraded on the crown of this particular specimen) : all the tail*
feathers are barred with white, the middle pair on each web alternately ,
and the rump is confusedly rayed with white and dusky black : breast
spotted with linear streaks ; and the flanks and belly marked with
obscure transverse rays. Length nearly seven inches ; of tail two and
a quarter ; (wings imperfect in the specimen ;) bill to forehead (through
the feathers) barely seven-eighths of an inch. If new, P. pectoralis^
nobis. Hab. ?
Sub-genus Gecinus, The Picus affinis. Raffles, is identified with
P. dimidiatus, Tem.. in the Zoological Appendix to Lady Raffles's ' Life of
Sir St. Raffles, p. 668 ; and Gecinus viridanus, nobis, is certainly ano-
ther synonyme of the same. This bird seems common throughout the
eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, as in Arracan and the Tenasserim
« Madras Journal, No. XXXI, 138.
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16 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
provinces ; in which latter range of territory C occipitalis, (Vig.,) v.
barbatus, (Gray,) undistinguishable from the Himalayan bird, appears
likewise to be of plentiful occurrence.
G, chlorigaster, Jerdon, Madr. Joum. No. XXXI, 138 : Picus mentalis
apud Jerdon, Catal, Though closely allied to G. chloropus, Vieillot, v.
nipalensis. Gray, with which I formerly identified it, this Woodpecker
proves on comparison to be a distinct species. It is rather smaller than
G. chloropus, and readily distinguishable by the crimson of its whole
occiput, which is transversely separated from the dark green of the
crown, and forms a pointed crest behind, which completely overhangs
the silky yellow feathers of the nape : in G, chloropus, this yellow nuchal
crest is much more developed, and the crimson is confined to the sides of
the occiput, the central portion being green continued from the forehead,
and the partly red and partly green occipital crest is not prolonged to
the length of the yellow feathers beneath it. G, chloropus has the colours
generally brighter and more contrasted than G, chlorigaster : the dusky
green of the neck and breast contrasts with the brighter green of the
upper-parts ; there is a greater admixture of white about the throat and
ear-coverts, which last are uniform dark green in G, chlorigaster; and the
loral feathers are conspicuously white, with a black streak above, this
white being scarcely observable in G. chlorigaster : the mottling of the
flanks is also of a different pattern. Length of wing four inches and
three-quarters; in P. chloropus, five inches to five and a quarter.
Inhabits Southern India.
In XIV, 193, 1 distinguished three species of the three-toed Wood*
peckers forming the division Tiga of Kaup ; and in a note to p. 551, I
mentioned the existence of a splendid fourth species from Malacca. The
latter proves to be the P. Rafflesii, Vigors, of the ' Appendix to Sir St»
Raffles's Life' by Lady Raffles, p. 669. I took the following description
of a female, in the collection of Captain Thomas, of the 39th Regt. B. N. L
Length a foot ; of wing five inches and three-quarters, and of middle
tail-feathers four and three-quarters: bill to gape an inch and five-
eighths. Colour dull uniform golden-green above; the crown, much
lengthened occipital feathers, primaries and their coverts, and tail, dusky
black, with whitish tips to the primaries ; forehead ruddy orange ; throat
and moustaches, pale yellowish-buff ; and lower parts of a dingy, ruddy,
somewhat dusky, greenish* brown, with some transverse whitish spots
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oa the flanks; ear- coverts blackish, bordered aboye and below with a
white streak, and bounded posteriorly by a white patch ; and below the
inferior white line and patch is another broad streak of black. Bill
dusky-greenish towards base of lower mandible ; and the legs appear to
have been green. The male (describing from memory, assisted by the latin
definition cited,) resembles the female, except in having the whole crown .
and the much lengthened occipital feathers, very brilliant crimson.* This
beautiful species obviously connects the subdivision Tiga (v. Chrysonotus,
Swainson,) with Gecinus (v. Chrysoptilus, Sw.) : indeed, were it not for
the absence of the fourth toe, I should scarcely have hesitated in refer-
ring it to Gecimts, regarding it, however, as a link between that division
on the one hand, and Brachyptemus and Tiga, on the other. In
the Appendix to Lady Raffles' work cited, P. Rafflesii is stated to
be of the size of P. tiga ; which latter (as here referred to) I believe
to be my T. intermedia, which is common in the Tenasserim Pro-
vinces, and that it is the Sumatran P. tiga of Raffles ; while the Malacca
species is of the same small size as that of Java, lately received by
the Society, (the females of which have the head differently spotted
from those of T. intermedia,) and to which I have appropriated the
name Tiga tridactgla,f
With regard to the species of Brachyptemus, (p. 550 and note), Mr.
Jerdon informs me that the common species of Southern India is
identical with true Aurantius fv. hengalensis), of which I sent specimens
for comparison ; and the same gentleman has favoured the Society with
an example of his P. (Microptemus) badius of Southern India, which
Lord A. Hay considered (p. 551) to be distinct from both its Bengal and
Malayan representatives : it is, indeed, intermediate to the other two, both
in size and colouring ; and combines the infuscated crown of M, phcsoceps
with the dark throat pf M. badius (verus), its tail-bars being also closer
than in the others, amounting to six in number on the middle feathers,
additional to the dusky tips, whereas the other species have only five.
Mr. Jerdon designates it M, gularis.t The range of M, plusoceps ex-
* Correct ; and the colours also generfklly somewhat brighter.
t In the same Appendix, I find described a Phoemcophaus caniceps, which is the
young ofRhinoriha chlorophaa; ^IHcoeum croceaventresssD. trigonostigma, ( Scopoli),
V. catUiUansi Chkropsis zost&ropss:=Phyllomis Sonneratii, foem.;— and Vinago gi-
ganteuM, which there can be little doubt refers to Treron Capellei.
X Madr. Jour. No. XXXI, 191.
D
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18 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
tends southward to the Tenasserim Provinces, and one female from
thence has the wing fully five inches long ; that of M, gularis measures
four inches and three-quarters.*
Cuculida, The oriental species of true Cuculus are still far from heing
definitively understood. First, there is the deep-coloured hird, otherwise
resembling C. fugas «f India, described as C nisicolor, Hodgson, in
XII, 943, but which I renounced as a species in XIV, 204. A Ma-
lacca specimen in Lord A. Hay's collection, however, renders this again
doubtful, and it will perhaps prove to be the veritable C/ugax of the
Malay countriea.f Then, I suspect that I have confounded three species
under C. micropterus, Gould : viz. — 1, C. saturatus, Hodgson, (XII,
942,) the supposed old birds, with upper-parts "uniform pure dark
ashy," mentioned in my description of C. micropterus, in XI, 903 ; and
these seem also to have the under-parts more closely barred than in true
C. micropterus, and are altogether more complete miniatures of C. eano-
rus, having the dimensions of C. micropterus. It inhabits the Hima-
laya. (This must be regarded as a doubtful species, however, as yet.) —
2, C. micropterus verus, with a larger bill than in C, canorus, the under-
parts more distantly barred, the upper-parts of a bronzed ash-brown,
and not pure dark ashy, the irides pale dusky, and the orbits and feet
light wax- yellow : the Bokuttdeko of the natives. Inhabits India generally,
but is more numerous in the hills. — 3, C affinis, A. Hay. Decidedly a
good species, resembling C canorus in size, and C. micropterus in form
and colouring ; length of wing eight inches and a half, or an inch more
than in C. micropterus. Common in Malacca, and not improbably
the Javanese Variety of C. canorus of Dr. Horsfield's list. In addition to
these, we have C sparverioides, of the same minimum group as C. fugas
and C. nisicolor ; and also C canorus, and the little C. poliocephalus (v,
himalayanus. Vigors), pertaining to the same minimum group as the
other species mentioned. I kept for about a year a pair of C. canorus
(indicus), for a long while in the same cage : upon separating them, the
* P. ceyhnus, Forst, (v, P. neglectus, Wagler,^ is a species obtained in Ceylon by
Lord A. Hay.
t Since writing the above, I have seen Mr. Jerdon's statement to the same effect,
Madr. Jour, No. XXXI, 140. Mr. J. thinks that the common Indian species should
be termed C. Lathami, Gray. I may add that his specimen of C. Sonneratii which
he refers to, is perfectly identical in species with others from Malacca.
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male soon began to utter his cry, cuckoo, generally of a morning and
evening, ten or twenty times successively. The note was certainly
harsher and less musical than that of the English bird, whether heard
near or at a distance. It is very desirable that observers who have the
opportiinity, should strive to elucidate this very difficult little group of
Cuckoos : it is probable that attention to their notes would essentially
assist the study of them ; and to naturalists located in the hilly parts
of the country, we must chiefly look for conclusive information on the
subject.
Simoies, nobis, it. g. Nearly allied to restricted Cuculus, but differing
in the great breadth and depression of the beak, which considerably
resembles that of Casmarhynchius, Tern., in general outline, being
however flatter, especially underneath, where the rami are united for
their terminal half or more, measuring from the gape ; the nostrils
being also formed as in other Cuculi ; and the tip of the upper mandible
entire, or unemarginated. Rest as in ordinary Cuckoos.
8. ttlbivertex, nobis. Glossy black, with a broad white vertical
medial band from the forehead to the occiput. Some white feathers
also on the throat ; and slight whitish tips to the outer tail-feathers.
In immature plumage, the black is less intense, and the feathers are
looser in texture ; but there are no cross-bars. Bill black, paler below ;
and the interior of the mouth wholly yellow : legs dark brown, the
tarsi half-feathered externally. Length about fourteen inches; of
wing six and a half, or seven inches ; and tail the same : bill to gape an
inch and three-eighths, and half an inch broad at the nostrils : tarse
seven-eighths of an inch. From Borneo (I have reason to believe) ;
being sent with other birds from that island b^ Mr. Jerdon.
Taccocua ajffms, nobis. Three species of this division are distin-
guished in Vol. XIV, p. 200; and subsequent observation has con-
firmed the propriety of the separation : but I find that the Sirkeer
of the Rajmahl and Monghyr hills requires further to be distinguished
from that of the Cawnpore district, higher up the Ganges in the
WNW. direction. Dr. Stewart has favoured the Society with a
Rajmahl specimen, which he justly remarks can be reconciled with
neither of my descriptions. It combines the size of T, sirkee with the
colouring of T. in/uscata ; but has the bill rather more abruptly curved
over than in either, and coloured as in all its congeners. Wing six
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20 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
inches ; middle tail-feathers nine inches ; and tarse an inch and a half.
The deeper shade of colour of this hird distinguishes it from T, sirkee,
to which it approximates most nearly, as also the decided brownish hue,
concolourous with the back, of its tibial plumes, which in the other are
highly rufescent ; and a further marked distinction from T. sirkee con-
sists in the hue of the pectoral region, which has no rufescent tinge in
the specimen before me of T. affims, while in T. sirkee, the ferruginooa
tinge of the abdomen suffuses the breast and throat, passing insensibly,
with no decided line of demarcation. The abdominal plumage of this
bird is of a less dark tinge than in T. in/uscata ; but the general co-
louring is much the same as in that species, from which the more slen-
der legs and vertically deeper and more abruptly curved bill help to
distinguish it. A further description is quite needless.
Centropus bicoior. Lesson ; C. eelehensis, probably of Temminck. A
description of this species will be acceptable to British students of orni-
thology. Length of wing seven inches, of middle tail-feathers a foot, the
outermost shorter by one-half; bill large, measuring to gape an inch and
three-quarters in a straight line ; long hind-claw seven-eighths of an inch.
Colour of wings and tail, a peculiar dull vinous-ruddy, nearly the same on
the fianks, vent, and lower tail- coverts, and with a ferruginous tinge on
the rump and upper tail-coverts : head, neck, throat, and breast, dull
isabelline, paler towards the throat, and browner on the crown and back ;
wing-coverts tinged with the same brown; and all passing backwards
into the vinaceous hue of the great alars and tail. Bill blackish, with
homy- white tip : legs apparently plumbeous. Plumage not very spinous,
\X» general character and colouring being much that of the Sirkeers (TaC'
cocuaj. Inhabits the Celebes and the Moluccas.
CaprimulgidcB. The Indian and Malayan species of true Caprimulgus
resolve into three different subgroups, each characterized by a particular
style of marking : viz. — 1, the C. macrourus group, comprising C. albo-
notatus, C. macrourus, C. mahrattensis, and C. asiaticus, which last differs
from the three others in having unfeathered tarsi ; these have the two outer
tail-feathers on each side broadly tipped with white, which in the females
is sullied, more or less reduced in quantity, and sometimes altogether
wanting: — 2, the C indicus group, with a terminal or subterminal
white spot on all but the middle pair of tail-feathers, rarely seen, and
the white then much reduced in quantity, in the females; — probably
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three species, at present not well determined (vide XIV, 208*) : — 3,
the C. monticolus group, of which the males have their two outer tail-
feathers wholly white to near the tips : also apparently three species, — C
monticolus, — another allied to this in Scinde, — and C. affinis, Horsf., of
the Malay countries, which last merely differs from C, monticolus in its
smaller size, and the greater admixture of black on the upper-parts,
more especially upon the crown. Length of wing six inches and a half, —
that of C. monticolus being an inch more, — and the rest in proportion.
The Scindian species (?) is figured in one of Sir A. Burnes' drawings, as
mentioned in Vol. XIV, note to p. 547. It would appear to be still more
uniformly coloured in the drawing than C. monticolus, of a light fulves-
cent-grey or sandy hue, with dark pencillings, but no scapulary pale
streak nor white mark crossing the breast ; tail closed, but its middle
feathers (which alone are seen in the drawing) have narrower cross
lines than in C. monticolus ; the lower parts are represented somewhat
paler than the upper, as is also the inner anterior margin of the wing
(towards the body). Length of wing six inches and a quarter (not
*' nine inches and a quarter," as formerly misprinted). Should this be
verified as a distinct species, it might bear the name C. arenarius, in
allusion to the sandy soil which its colour would certainly denote that
it frequented, and which is a very prevalent hue of the birds and other
animals from Sdnde, as M. Temminck has remarked of those from
Egypt.t
Cypselida. Macropteryx coronatus ; Hirundo coronata, Tickell, J,
A. 8. II, 580. This has hitherto been undistinguished from M. klecko
(Horsf.,) V. longipennis, (Tem.,) of the Malay countries, which in India
is represented by the present species. The two are, however, obviously
* The true C indicus extends its range to Malacca. It is not rare in the Calcutta
Botanic Garden. — C monticolus I lately observed in a patch of open jungle, surrounded
by cultivated fields.— C. pukher, A. Hay, Madr, Joum. No. XXXI, p, l6I,»Z«yn-
cornis Temminckii, Gould. The Society has specimens of this bird from Malacca and
Java.
t The Norwegian collection before referred to, contains a female of C. europaus ;
and the resemblance of this to some speciniens of C. indicus is extremely close : but
the latter may always be distinguished by having the tarsi wholly feathered ; by the
abdominal region being much less rayed ; and the males by having a white spot on four
of the primaries, and upon the four outer tail-feathers on each side. The Society has
also a Tenasserim specimen of undoubted C. macrourus, which very much resembles
both C. indicus and C. europaus; but may be distinguished from the latter by having
the tarse wholly feathered, and by the white basal portion of its rictal bristles.
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22 Noticet and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
distinct upon comparison of specimens. M. coronatus has the tail
much more deeply forked, and its outermost feathers are much more
attenuated, heing commonly prolonged two inches heyond the extremi-
ties of the next pair, and an inch and a half heyond the tips of the
wings ; whereas in M. kiecho, the tail does not reach to the tips of the
wings, and hoth alars and caudals are considerably broader than in the
Indian species. The colour of the upper-parts is also much greyer in
the latter, with but a faint tinge of green, instead of being brightly
glossed with green ; and the chin and sides of the throat of the male,
besides the ear-coverts, are ferruginous. Colour greyish above, darker
in the male, and glossed with purplish-green ; the tertiaries more or less
pale, but never albescent- grey as in Af. kiecho: lower-parts ashy, with
a slight green gloss, and passing to white on the belly and lower tail-
coverts. Crest as in the other species, and structure in all respects
typical. Length eight inches, by thirteen in alar expanse ; of wing six
and a quarter ; and of outermost tail-feather five and a quarter. Com-
mon in Central and Southern India, and most probably the only species
met with in the country.
We have accordingly now four species pf this beautiful genus, which
appears to be peculiar to India and the Malay countries : — viz. M, corO'
natus, — Af. kiecho, — ^the very beautiful M. comaius, (Tem.,) — and M,
mystaceus, (Lesson,) of which last I have seen neither figure nor des-
cription : the three others are in the Society's Museum.
Collocalia, O. R. Gray. Several specimens from the Nioobar Islands
differ a little from C. fuciphaga of Java, in having more white under-
neath, the crown and back darker and tinged with blue more than green»
and the wing somewhat longer, and straighter or less sickle- shaped.
These characters obtain, both in the old and young ; but separation of
them seems hardly justifiable. In specimens recent, or preserved in
spirit, the outer toe is as opposable as in other Swifts.*
* Since the first portion of the present paper was printed off, the Society has been
favoured by Gapt. Lewis with numerous specimens, of various classes, collected in the
Nicobars, and comprising several interesting novelties. In the class of birds, the most
remarkable discovery is that of a species of Megapodius, having the same extraordinary
habits as Mr. Gould's Af. iumtUus of Australia: there is also a new Macropygia^
more nearly resembling M. phasianeUa of Australia, than Af. amboinensis of Java
and the Moluccas; specimens of a new Treron, previously however brought from thence;
also of a new Heron, which likewise inhabits Arracan ; and some Insessores which I
shall describe in their respective places in the present paper : but the following species
can only be introduced here, instead of in p. U, passim.
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Corvida. The Indian true Corvi, though so particularly numerous
in individuals, are referable to but three species (that I know of), and
of these the Raven (C. eorax, Lin.) is confined to the north-western
Himalaya and its vicinity, being unknown at Daijeeling, and equally so
Todtramphus occipitalis nobis. Nearly allied to 7*. coUaris and T, sacsr^ but es-
pecially distinguisbed by its strongly marked rufescent supercilia, wbicb are continued
quite round tbe occiput, forming a narrow band ; beneatb tbis is a broader black band,
continued from tbe ear-coverts; and tben a still broader fuUescent-wbite collar, as in
tbe allied species : immediately bordering the last, tbe back is more infuscated than
in the other, and tbe crown is likewise very dark, with some rufous lateral edges to
tbe frontal feathers : under-parts white, a little tinged with fulvescent, but less so than
in T. sacer; and the back, wings, and tail, are much, as in T. coUaria: bill black
above, and the tip of the iQwer mandible ; the rest of the latter white : legs brownish.
Length of wing four inches and a quarter ; tail three inches ; and bill to gape two and a
quarter. Young rather smaller, with dusky margins to the pectoral feathers ; and the
beak shorter, with a white and hooked extreme tip. It may be remarked that in T,
coUaris and T. sacer^ there is a much less developed white occipital band concealed
beneath the surface of the feathers, but which shews conspicuotisly when the coronal
plumes are a little raised.
The following two species of PaUsornis appear also to be quite new.
P. canicepSf nobis. This is a very strongly marked species; but I can now
merely indicate rather than describe it, as but one specimen was obtained (alive, from
a native), which had lost its tail, and the wing-primaries were also mutilated. The
size approaches that of P, Alexandria which at once distinguishes it from all other
known species of the group. General colour vivid yellowish-green, with the winglet
and base of the secondaries indigo*blue, and the medial portion of the seconda-
ries inclining to emerald-green; primaries black, the longest of them tinged with
indigo towards their base: cap grey; a broad frontal band continued to the eyes,
(this mark corresponding with that of P. pondicerianus^ but very much broader,)
and likewise a broad black moustache, with some black feathers also on the throat :
above this moustache, between it and the frontal band, the feathers are of the same
grey as those of the crown. The beak has the upper mandible coral-red, with a white
tip; and the lower mandible black: the form of the bill is both narrower and less
deep than in P. Alexandria and angulates above towards the base.
P. erythrogenySy nobis. Allied to P. malaccensis; but readily distinguished by
the blossom -red hue of the cheeks not being continued round the nape, and by its
larger size, and differently shaped tail. Length of wing seven inches and a quarter,
and of tail ten inches; the middle pair of tail-feathers exceeding the next by three
inches and three-quarters. General colour bright-green, more yellowish below,
and tinged in the male with hoary greyish-blue on the nape and back ; winglet
and primaries blue, the latter margined and broadly tipped with green ; middle tail-
feathers also blue, margined with green for the basal half, and the rest of the tail-
feathers chiefly or wholly green above, and all of them dull yellow below; the cap is
not of a distinct emerald-green, as in P. malaccensis, but uniformly coloured with tbe
back (save where the latter is tinged with grey in the male) ; there is a well defined
narrowish black streak from the nostril to the eye, and the same black moustache as in
P. malaccensis; and the lores, cheeks, and ear-coverts, (only,) are blossom-red. Upper
mandible coral-red, with a white tip; the lower one black. The female merely differs
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24 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
throughout India generally.* The common Indian Black Crow (C. cui-
minatus, Sykes.f is often erroneously termed 'Raven' by Europeans,
and as often confounded with the European C, corone : it is eminently a
" Carrion Crow" in its habits, and especially frequents the vicinity of the
great rivers, being less confined than the next species to the immediate
neighbourhood of human habitations. The common Indian Crow (C splen-
dens, Vieillot,) has sometimes been mistaken for the Jackdaw (C. mone^
duh), and sometimes for the Hooded Crow (C. comix), of Europe;
as in the 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society' for 1839, p. 163,
where the specification of the '* Rook" and " Carrion Crow" both refer,
as I believe, to C. eulminatus, and the Raven is also there mentioned as
an inhabitant of Assam (a statement which it would be satisfactory to
have verified). C. eulminatus is the Common Crow of Arracan ; the
C. splendens being only known in the northern part of that province, as
about Akyab, (according to Capt. Phayre,) — and to the southward, upon
the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal, I am told that it is the species of
the Tenasserim Provinces. Proceeding further southward, a very distinct
species of black Crow (C. macrorhynchos, Vieillot.) abounds towards
the Straits of Malacca, which is probably the Sumatran C. corax apud
Raffles ; and the Javanese C enca, (Horsf.), is distinct again, as I
am informed. I have also been told that C, macrorhynckos is a much
shyer bird than C. eulminatus, with a very different caw ; and the elon-
gation of the beak, remarkable in C macrorhynckos, would seem to be
still further carried out in C. enca, insomuch that the latter species was
ranged by Dr. Horsfield as a Chough {Fregilus), Professor Temminck
states that the European Raven, Carrion Crow, Hooded Crow, and
in having the crown, nape, and back, quite uniform green, without the hoary-blue
tinge conspicuous in the male; and the upper mandible is more or less black, like the
lower one.
in P. pondicerianus, the upper mandible of the female is usually black, but often
more or less mingled with red ; that of the male being always bright coral-red : and
the same is probably the case with both the foregoing new species, as well as with P,
malaccensis. The young female of P. pondicerianus has recently been described by
Mr. Fraser, by the name P, modestus. This latter species is common in Bengal,
Assam, and along the eastern side of the Bay to the Malay countries generally; but is
very doubtful as an inhabitant of Pondicherry, or any other part of the Indian
Peninsula.
* It is common at Feroxepore, at least during the cold season.
t In the Diet, Class, d* Hist. Nat,, this bird is erroneously referred to C. mc^or of
Levaillant
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 25
Rook, occur in Japan* ; but Mr. Gould has diatinguished the so called
*' Rook" of Ckusm by the name C. pastinator (P. Z. S. 1845. p. 1) ;
and another species inhabiting China and Chinese Tartary, is the C
dmaicus, Pallas, which should be looked for by our trans- Himalayan
travellers. Mr. Oould has also recently distinguished the common Aus-
tralian black Crow by the name C coronoides.
The Red-legged Chough (Fregilus graadus,) and Alpine Chocard
(Pyrrhocorax acinus,) are both well known tenants of the bare Hima-
layan crags, and appear to be identical in species with their European
brethren. Captain Hutton mentions the former as a winter visitant in
Afghanistan ; and also that the Raven {Corvus corax,) and the Rook
(C, frugiiegus,) occur in that country, the former in summer, the latter
in winter.t
Of the Nutcrackers (Nueifruga,) but three species have been ascer-
tained ; N, hemispila of the Himalaya, N, caryocatactes of Europe,
and N, columbianus of North America (the Corvus columbianus, Wilson,
first properly classified by the Prince of Canino). These birds are
peculiar to the pine-forests, and the Himalayan species appears to be
particularly abundant.
Magpies. Pica, Ray. The only species of true black and white
Magpie proper to Indian Zoology, is the P. bottanensis. Ad. Deless., v.
megaloptera, nobis, J, A, 8„ XI, 193. It is remarkable for its great
size, very large wings, and tail of moderate length. Inhabits the more
eastern Himalaya.
The other species of this genus, which I at present know of, are as
follow: —
2. P, media, nobis, J. A. S., XIII, 393. The next in point of size.
From the Chilian Andes.
3. P. caudata, Ray. The common European Magpie. This appears
* Some of the Japanese birds referred by M. Temminck to European species, are
certainly quite distinct ; e. g., the Jay. which differs from Garrulus glandarius in
having the space between the eye and mousUche filled up with black (1 think the
same as in the Syrian Jay, G, atricapillus, Geoff., which has additionally a black cap) ;
also the Japanese Robin, which has a rufous tail ; and the Bullfinch, of which the male
has a pale abdomen and lower breast, and both sexes are without the red mark on the
outer margin of the smallest tertiary, which is constant in the European species, and
in P. nipalensis becomes deep shining crimson ; the female is also of a different shade
of colour from that of its European congener.
t Calcutta Joum. Nat. Hist, 1, 558.
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26 Ni)tive8 and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
to be the species of Afghanistan, though I have never had the opportu-
nity of comparing an Afghan with an European specimen. One I
examined some time ago, from that country, had the wing seven inches
and three-quarters long ; tail eleven inches ; bill to frontal fbathors an indi
and a quarter ; and tarse an inch and three-quarters. Mr. Yarrell gives ^
wing of the English -bird as seven inches and a quarter, and Mr. Jenyns
as seven inches and eight lines: that of a Britislr specimen in the
Society's Museum (probably a finale,) has it but seven inches. I fully
believe that the Afghan Magpie is identical with the British i^cies.* It
has also been generally considered identical with that of China and
Japan, and with the ordinary species of Western North America.
Mr. Gould, however, has recently described the Chinese Magpie as
distinct; but it would seem that the European is one of three species
inhabiting the North American continent, all ditiPerent from P, media
of South America. For the identity of the North American species
found westward of the Rocky MounCains^ with that of Europe, we
have the authority of Mr. Swainson ; though he also regards the Chinese
Magpie as the same : remarking-^" We have been able to compare En-
glish and Arctic [American] specimens, with one from the interior of
China, and we cannot perceive the slightest difference wlmtever to build
even the character of a variety, much less of a species. The tails of the
Arctic specimens are very beautiful." Fauna Amepicana''berealis, II,
292. Perhaps, therefore, there may be two species of Magpie in
China, one of them identical with that of Europe. . '
4. P, sericea, Gould, Proc. ZooL 8oc. 1845, p. 2. From Amoy.
*' Closely allied to the common Magpie, but diflfers in the wings,- being
blue instead of green, in the rather less extent of the white, and in hav-
ing a longer bill and much longer tarsus ; the latter measuring two
inches and a quarter."
5. P. hudsonia, (Sabine), 'Appendix' to the Narrative of Franklin's
first Polar Expedition, p. 671. The Magpie of Hudson's Bay. " Of
less size m all its parts than the European Magpie, except in its tail,
which exceeds that of its congener in length ; but the most remarkable
and obvious difference consists in a loose tuft of greyish and white feathers
on the back : * * * tail from eleven and a half to twelve inches long."
* A Norwegian specimen just arrived, has the wing fully eight inches, and the rest
as in the Afghan specimen above noticed.
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&|<»8t of the Magpies have more or lesa greyish over the rump, and the
absence of this is one distinguishing character of F. battantnsis,
6. P, Nuttalli, Audttbon« ' Ornitbologieal Biography/ This species
is at once kndWn by its yellow bill. From Western North America.
7. P. ? The small species noticed in /. A. 8, XIII, 398,
which is considerably inferior in size to the European Magpie, and has
the tail glossed as in P. Nuttaili. I certainly do not think that it eould
have been P. h^dsonia, and am unaware of its habitat. The only spe-
cimen I hare seen was an unmounted skin in the collection of the Zoolo-
gical Society.
Ptilorhinus, Ruppell. The Blue Magpies. Mr. O. R. Gray, in his
recent enumeration of the species of this group^ gives only four ; three
of these being American, and the fourth Asiatic. I find, however, that
several nearly allied Asiatic speeies, as many as five apparently, require
to be diaeriminated.
1. Pa. 9metm$; Cuculus smensit, Lin., founded on the StM^km of
Boffoa : Certms erythrorkfnchos, Latham, founded on le Geai do la Chine
d bee raufe of Bufibn ; also Coraciae melanocepkaia, Latham. This
Chinese Inrd, aoo^i^g to Levpullant's figure and deseription, has
too much white upon its craum for the common Himalayan species,
figured as Pica ^thr^rkifneka in Gould's ' Century' ; and as the
other oriental species of this group differ espeeially in thia particular, and
u LevaiUant exaniiaed '' at lenst six specimens" of his Pie Bfeae, I think
we may confide in his eoourscF ^^ J9g9id& the marking in question. He
ezpresfily states that the forehead, cheeks, throat, and the firont and sides
of the ne^, are of a decided black ; fhe whole tep qftke head is covered
with Uuish*grey feathers^ which are long and broad, and form a kind
of pendent cre^ : but he is 4<mbtlea» wrong in correcting Bufion res-
peet^g the colourmg of the beak, the original bright coral-red of which
had faded i^ the specimens which he saw and drew from*
2. P«. oceipiialis, nobis : Pica erythrorh^ncha, apud Vigors and Gould.
Bill eor^l-ii^ ; a lar^^ oval white patch oonQned to the occiput, and
pointed posteriorly^ wi|Ji terminal white spots on the hinder corona^
feathers immediately impending it. The common species of Nepal and
to the NW., as at Mussoorie, &c.
3. P», magnirostrie, nobis. Resembles the last, but is still more richly
coloured, especially on the wings ^ the bill much larger than in the
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2B Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
others ; and a great naked space sarrounding the eyes ; the legs and
claws also are large and strong. Length of bill to gape, an inch and
three-quarters, that of Ps. occipitalis barely exceeding an inch and a
half; and its depth and strength also considerably greater! Inhabits the
Ya-ma-dong mountains, separating Arracan from Pegu.
4. Ps, albicapillus, nobis. This is evidently distinct, though I only
know it in its immature garb, which differs from that of Ps. occipitalis
in having the entire cap white ; the extreme frontal feathers, and those
impending the nostrib, being alone black. From the neighbourhood of
Simla. The Chinese species would seem to be intermediate to this and
Ps, occipitalis*
5. Ps. flavirostris, nobis. General plumage of a much duller colour
than in the others ; the bill of the recent specimen bright yellow,
instead of deep coral-red ; and the white of the occiput reduced to a
narrowish transverse band, with a broad collar of black below it, sur-
rounding the hind- neck, and never any white tips to the feathers imme-
diately above it ; legs and toes small and slender. This is the most
distinct from the rest of all the species here indicated ; and it is the
first which I distinguished from Ps» occipitalis, though I waited to
obtain the young of the latter before attempting to describe it as a
separate race. It is the common species of Daijeeling, and the only
one I have seen from that locality ; but I have now seen many speci.
mens from thence, all true to their distinctive characters. Upon shewing
the three Himalayan races to Mr. Hodgson, fPs. albicapillus, Ps. occi-
pitalis, and Ps. flavirostris y) that gentleman informed me that he had
long ago distinguished them, and that he had exhibited coloured draw«
ings of the heads of each at a meeting of the Zoological Society in
London. It is probable that natur^ists in Europe will not at once be
prepared to accept the distinctions that have been here indicated, but
I am content to await their future decree, when they shall have obtain-
ed the requisite data to judge from; as in the matter also of the
Hoonuman Monkeys, (XIII. 470,) concerning which Mr, Ghray, I per-
ceive, regards as varieties merely of the same species, the very distinct
* Lord A. Hay writes me word, that he has recently obtained this white*capped
species at Simla : it being the only specimen of the genus which his lordship did there
meet with; though Ps. occipitalis abounds at Mussoorie, and as Capt. Button informs
me, is very terrene in its habits, feeding almost entirely on the ground.
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races which I still insist upon are different species, if any meaning
is to be attached to the latter term. With sufficiently perfect sped-
mens to form an opinion upon, I own I cannot conceive how any other
conclusion can be arrived at, in the latter instance, than that upon which
Mr. Elliot and myself are agreed.
Cissa, Boie : Corapica, Lesson : Chhrismna^ Swainson. Here, again,
I think that three species require to be distinguished. 1, Cissa sinensis,
(6m.), founded on Buffon's plate, of which a copy has been obligingly
sent me by Mr. Jerdon. This would seem to be distinguished from C.
venatariust (Gray,) of the Himalaya, Assam, Sylhet* and the Tenasserim
Provinces, by having much less black behind the eye; and it would
appear also to have the wing entirely blackish, except the tips of the
tertiaries which are white : and as the upper*parts are represented more
green than blue, the inference is, that the hue of Buffon's specimen had
not faded. — 2, C venatoHus, (Ghray );— and 3, C. thalassinay (Texn.) — C.
venatarius, when newly moulted, is of a lovely green, with the wings
bright sanguine-red ; and the bill and legs deep coral : but whether alive,
(wild, or in confinement,) or mounted as a stuffed specimen and exposed
to the light, the green soon changes to verdigris^blue, and the red of
the wings to dull ashy : at this time of writing, a specimen in the
Museum which was of the finest green and red when set up, has com-
pletely faded on the side exposed to a moderate light, and retained its
pristine colours on the other side; and I am obliged to keep another
specimen protected from the light, to shew the gireat beauty of the
species in its unchanged verdure, I have had many of these birds alive,
which combine in their manners the traits of the Jay and Shrike ; they
are very amusing birds, soon become tame and quite fearless, are very
imitative, sing lustily a loud and screeching strain of their own, with
much gesticulation, and are highly carnivorous in their appetite. The
8hrike-like habit, in confinement, of placing a bit of food in each interval
betwixt the bars of their prison, is in no species more strongly exempli-
fied then in Cissa venatorius.
The genera Psilorhinus and Cissa, with Cyanacorax of South Ame-
rica, form a little group by themselves*; and I consider that Mr.
Strickland was quite justified in separating from the last the blue Jays of
* Corvus cyanuSt Pallas, exemplifies another form that should rank with them.
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30 Notices and Deseffs^tUmi of various New [No. 169.
North America, whieh constitute bis Oyanocittat An, and Mag, Nat, Hist,
1645, p. 260 ; but as Corvua cristatus, Liu., is the type of Mr. Swain-
son's Cfannrus, I conceiye that this must take precedence of CyangdUa,
Strickland.
Crypsirina, Vieillot : Phrenotrix, Horsfield : Dendroeitta» Gould. Some
attempt was made at oolktiog the Indian species of this group of Mag-
pies, in XII, 932. I now add another species, and shall endeavour to
assort the synonymes.
L Cr. rt/c ; Corvus n^, Seopoli, Lath., founded on la Pie roasse
die la Chine of Sonnerat, badly ^ured by LevaUlant : also Cataews vaga*
knnda^ Latham ; and perhaps Pica ru/iventris, VieiUot, Shaw's Zoology.
XIV, 73. India generally.
2. Cr. pallida, nobis. Distinguished from the last by its oonatder-
ably amalier size and paler colouring. Length about fifteen inches, of
which the middle tail-featiiers measure eight and three*quarters, the
outermost four inches and five-eighths less ; wing five inches and a half;
bill to gape nearly an inch and a quarter ; tarse an inch and one-eighth.
Plumage as in CV. rufa^ but altogether mueh paler : the back and sca-
pularies ijBabelline with a shade of dusky, but devoid of any decided
rufous tinge ; rump paler, the belly and lower tail-cov^rts pure isabel-
line, or buflPy oream*eolour. The hue of the lower-parts approaches
that of the young of Cr, rufa ; but the much firmer structure of the
plumage, indicative of maturity, at once distinguishes it from the latt^.
Hab^ Western Himalaya. This species, and the young of Peilar^
hinus albicapiUus, were obtained in a junall ooUection from that part,
purchased in Gdcutta by Prof. Behn, of Kiel University, who first
called my attention to the distinctness of each of them horn its near
congener, and kindly permitted me to draw up descriptions for publica-
tion.* ^
3. Cr. sinensis.-f — 4. Cr, leucogastra, — d, Cr, rufigastra (nan vidij,
vide XII, 933.*— And 6. the Cr, altirqetris will, I suspect, prove to be the
same as Cr, frontalis, from the description of which it deviates only in
* Both would seem to be rare. Capt HuUon never met with Ps, albicapiUus,
during the long time that he has collected in the W. Himalaya; and Capt. Boys has
only once obtained Cr. pallida, many years ago.
f Very doubtful as an inhabitant of Southern India. Jerdon.
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1846.] w LiUh Known Specie^ of Birds. 31
haying the vertejp black like the forehead, not grey like the occiput.'''
Hab. Daijeelhig, and the momtains of Assam. This last species has
the beak compressed so as to resemble that of a CaUaaay Forster (o.
Giaueopis, QmJ), to which genus M. Temminck has referred certain
other C9fp8irin4e, as nko the Tnnnarus hucopienu, (Tern.), Lesson.
Of the two Himalayan species of Onrruius, or true Jay, Mr. O. R. Qray
arranges the synonymes as follow:-^!, Q, amatus, Oray» Hardwicke's
///. Ind, ZooL ; O. hiipeeuiaria. Vigors and Qould.«-^2, G, fulartg, Gray,
Hardw., ///. Ind. ZooL; G. lonoeolatw. Vigors and Gould; and G.
Vigorni, Gray, Hardw., ///. Ind. Zoo/.~The G. siriatuo. Vigors and
Gonld, though extremely Jay<*like in form, pertains to a different series
of birds ; and Mr. G. R. Gray ranges it under Jktmagra of Lesson,
which he considers synonymous with his own Keropia, G, guhcans is the
great Kemaon Shrike of M'Clelland's ' Gkology, &c. of Kemaon,' p. 244.
After the CorvidA, might be arranged the Purndiseida; to which
family I s|ispect the curious AmMralian genera P^inorhynchms and
Chlamidera should be referred. Then the great family of Stumida, com-
mencing nHth an Australian sub-family, which comprises the genera
Strepera, Gymnorhimi, Cractieus, Vanga, Noomorpha^ and Graiiinn, Then
the great series of Old Worid Stumidmy forming the sub-family Stuminm ;
from which perhaps that of Lamprotominte might be separated, though
it is not easy to trace the line of demarcation of this group. I described
apart the two Indian Graeula in XII, 178 (l>isj; but Lord Arthur Hay
has since distinguished the Malayan Graekle from that of Bengal, &c.,
which necessitates a revision of the synonymes of all three species.
1 . Gr, religioaa, Lin. (apud Lord A. Hay) : Gr, indica^ Cuvi^ ; Pa$*
tor ntusi^mst Tem. ; MaimUus javanua, Lesson, apud Jerdon, J, A. 8. XII.
178 (h%&) ; Lessor Mina of Edwards, quoted by Latham and Gmelin as
Gr. reiijiosa, L., var. A, (the Greater Mina of Edwards being quoted by
die^ as var. B.), Inhabits Southern India. '
2. Gr. javanensis, Osbeek : Greater Mina of Edwards ; and no
doubt Sturmts indicus Bontii of Ray and WiUughby ; probably also
Mainatus major, firisson. This, the common Malayan Graekle, differs
* Dr. fifcOlelland's coloured drftwiog of Or, frontalis aocovds with the description :
having the forehead broadly black, paieing laterally over each eye to beneath the
vertex, as in Cr. sinensis, and leaving the vertex greyish-white, continuous with
that of the occiput and nape ; whereas in Cr. altirostris, the black anterior portion
comprehends the vertex, as in Cr» leucogastra.
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32 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
from that of Nepal, Bengal, Assam, Arracan, and the Tenasserim
Provinces, (the common Hill Mynah of the Calcutta dealers,) in its
rather larger size, as regards linear dimensions, but much more robust
conformation, with much larger occipital lappets, &c. The closed beak
measures eleven* sixteenths of an inch in vertical depth, whereas in the
Bengal species it does not commonly attain to half an inch ; the feet
are also much thicker and stronger, with far more powerful toes and
claws, the tarse measuring an inch aiid three-eighths, and middle toe
and claw nearly one and seven-eighths ; while in the Bengal species the
former measurement is one and a quarter, or less, and the latter about one
and five-eighths ; wing respectively seven inches, and six and a half or
less ; and tail the same in both. All the specimens I have seen have
been from Malacca"': of a number received from the Tenasserim Province
of Y^, not one could be mistaken for this Malayan bird. Edwards' state-
ment that his " Greater Minor, or Mina, for bigness, equals a Jackdaw
or Magpie," is intelligible of the present species, but scarcely so of the
next.
3. Gr, intermedia, A. Hay, probably the Mainate of Buffbn, and
perhaps Mainatus sumatranus, Lesson : Gr, reliffiosa, apud nos,
J. A. S, XII, 178 fbisj. The range of this species has already been
indicated. It is always less robust, with a less powerful beak, and
smaller occipital lappets, than in Gr. javanensis.f
Ampeliceps coronatus, nobis, J. A. 8. XI, 194. In XII, 985» I
indicated a grand defect in the specimen originally described, and noticed
the near affinity of this genus to the preceding one. Our indefatigable
contributor Mr. Barbe has now supplied us with fine specimens of both
sexes, of which the beak essentially resembles that of Gracula, but is
smaller and shorter, and of a dark greenish colour with yellowish tip
and along the tomise (in the scarcely dry specimens). There is a
tolerably large naked space surrounding the eye. which appears to have
been yellow ; but the orbits are black,; and there are no short velvety
feathers on the sinciput, or nude skin beneath and occipital lappets,
* It likewise inhabits the N isobar Islands and Penang. In this species, the oc-
cipital lappets are generally united at base, but sometimes only approximated ; in Gr,
intermedia they are smaller and more distant apart.
t In the * Madras Journal', No. XXXI, p. 154 et seq»t Lord A. Hay terms these
three birds Gr. religiosa,javanay and indica (nee intermedia).
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1346.] or Liitle Known Species of Birdt. 33
as in Graeula; thoagh in other respects the form is barely separable.
The presumed female differs from the male in having less yellow on the
crown and throat : in the male, the whole crown, lores, throat, extending
laterally to the naked skin beneath the eyes, are bright yellow ; where-
as in tiie females, the lores, and a considerable space both above and
below the nude orbital skin, are black. The rest of the plnmage is
exactly as in the Oraeuke, with yellow instead of white barring the
primaries. Inhabits the Tenasserim Provinces. This is an exceedingly
pretty Mynah, and I doubt not would be much esteemed as a cage
favourite.
The other Mynahs were treated of in XIII, 361 et eeq.: and the
common arboreal Bengal species there referred, and also by authors gene*
rally, to AeridMeret cristatellus, (L.), of China, proves to be distinct,
and apparently referable to Pastor griseus, Horsf., of Java, which that
naturalist imagined to be the same as the cristatellus. To Lord Arthur
Hay, I am indebted for the loan of a Chinese specimen of true Acr.
cristaieUus, the young of which I described as Acr, fuliginosus in XIII,
362. I now supply descriptions of each, which will suffice to shew
their differences.
Aer, cristatellus, (Lin.) ; figured by Bdwards, pi. XIX : Acr, faHgi"
nosus, nobis (the young). Length about eleven inches : of wing five
inches and a half; and tail three and three-eighths ; bill to gape an inch
and three-eighths ; and tarsi an inch and a half. Colour throughout
greyish-black, with a bronzed gloss on the upper parts ; tail-feathers,
except the middle pair, and the lower tail*coverts, tipped with white ;
base of the primaries, and greater portion of their coverts, also white,
forming a broad band on the under surface of the wing ; erect frontal
feathers above three-quarters of an inch high, in the specimen under
examination : the bill appears to have been yellow, with the base of
the lower mandible carrot-red; and the legs arie also yellow. The
young is browner, with the white patch at the base of the primaries
much more developed : but there is no white at the tip of the tail, or of
its under-coverts ; and the frontal crest is barely indicated.
Aer, griseus, (Horsfield) : Pastor cristaUoOes, Hodgson. Smaller
and paler, with the under- parts of a much lighter asK- colour, paling
and in some specimens passing to vinaceous- white on the abdomen, and
always to pure white on the lower tail-coverts : the tail-feathers are
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34 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 160.
much more deeply tipped with white than in Acr, eristatellusr; there
is a similar white wing-patch ; and the frontal crest is commonly under
half an inch in height. Terminal half of the bill orange-yellow, the
remainder with the inside of the mouth deep black : legs orange-yellow :
irides bright yellow. Length nine inches and a half, by fifteen inches ;
wing five inches ; and tail three inches : bill to gape an inch and a quar-
ter ; and tarse one and three-eighths. The young are browner than
those of Act, cristatellus, and are at once distinguished by having the
throat whitish, more or less pure, and the middle of the belly and
lower tail-coverts white. This bird takes much the same range as
Graeula intermedia, only that it is not confined like that species to
the hill country : it is common along the eastern coast of the Bay of
Bengal, to the Tenasserim Provinces at least ; and it appears to be Dr.
Horsfield's Javanese Pastor griseus*
Also very closely allied to the latter, is the Acr.fuscus of the Indian
Peninsula, which is distinguished from Acr. griseus by its smaller size,
browner colouring, white abdominal region, and greyish-white irides.
Wing four inches and three-quarters.
The Acr. ginginianus, one of the commonest birds in the vicinity of the
great rivers of Upper India which have high banks, does not occur so
low down the Hoogly as Calcutta, but abounds as soon as the banks
of the Hoogly become of sufficient height for it to burrow in with
tolerable security ; and on ascending the river makes its appearance
soon after the common Indian Bank Swallow {Hirundo sinensis, Ghray).
Mr. Hodgson well named this species Pastor gregicolus, for it con-
stantly associates with the herds of cattle on open pastures ; and popu-
lous communities of them perforate deep holes in the perpendicular
banks of rivers, in which they repose and breed. This bird is the Tar-
dus suratensis, var. A, of Latham ; his T. suratensis being no other
then Pastor roseus : it is also the Gung-Salik (* Ganges Mynah') of the
Bengalees, and should be compared with the African Martin gris^de-fer
of Levaillant, upon which is founded Graeula grisea, Daudin, and
Cossyphus griseus of Dumeril.
Sturnia erytkropygia, nobis, n. s. This beautiful species would seem to
be nearly allied to the Javanese St, tricolor, (Horsfield), v. melanoptera,
* I think that I have seen it from Malacca, but am not quite sure. A gentleman
from Java considered it to be, decidedly, the species common in that island.'
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(Waglcr). Head, neck, and lower-parts, pure silky-white ; the wings
wholly shining black ; the scapularies and interscapularies pale satiny-
brown ; the rump, vent, upper and lower tail-coverts, deep ferruginous.;
and the tail black, with more than half of its outermost feather ferru-
giQous, and the rest successiyely less deeply tipped with ferruginous to
the middle pair : bill yellow, with the base of the lower mandible livid
blue ; and legs (apparently) orpiment-yellow. Length approaching to
nine inches ; of wing four inches and a quarter to four and a half ; and
tail three and a quarter to three and a half ; bill to gape nearly an inch
and a quarter ; and tarse an inch. Fron^ the Nicobar Islands.
To the same genus, Stumia of Lesson, must be referred the Pastor
wuUayensis, Eyton, P. Z, S. 1839, p. 103 ; but as an aberrant species, with
the bill short, and approximating that of Caiomw,— more slender, however,
Ihan in that genus, and having the outline of its upper mandible less curv-
ed. Length about seven inches and a quarter, of wing four and one-eighth,
and tail two and a quarter ; bill to gape seven-eighths, and tarse an
inch. Head, neck, and under-parts, of a silky subdued whitish or drab-
white ; whiter on the belly and lower tail-coverts, and tinged with pur-
plish on the crown and nape : an occipital spot, the interscapularies, prox-
imate scapularies, shoulder of the wing, and rump, black with a rich
purple shine ; outer scapularies, and the second range of wing-coverts,
subdued white ; as also an elongated central terminal spot on some of
the greater wing-coverts, and more or less developed on the tips of the
tertiaries ; rest of the wing, and the tail, glossy green-black, with some
admixture of purple ; the secondaries shaped at tip and margined with
deep black, as in Stumus vulgaris ; the outermost tail-feather having
a whitish-brown exterior web, and most of the upper tail-coverts are
of the same dull pale brown colour : bill dusky, whitish towards base of
lower mandible ; and the legs apparently plumbeous. What appear to
be the females have a large triangular drab-coloured spot at the base
of the secondaries, and the exterior half of the outer webs of the pri-
maries are of the same hue ; a trace of this appears also on the wings
of some (presumed) males. The young are brown above, paler be-
neath, passing to whitish on the belly and lower tail« coverts ; the back
and scapularies are darkest ; and there is a blackish occipital spot in
place of the shining black spot of the adult : the wings are marked
nearly as in the adult, but are much less bright ; the secondaries brown
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86 Noiiees and Deseriptums of various New [No. 169.
with pale outer margin ; and the bill pale, with dusky on its terminal
half. Common at Malacca.*
Calomia affinis, A. Hay. This differs from the Malayan C. cantor in
its larger size. Wing four inches to four and a quarter, instead of
three and a half to three and fiye-eighths : and tail three inches to three
and a quarter, instead of two inches and a half ; tarse seren-eighths^
instead of three-quarters of an inch ; and bill about the same in both :
plumage of the two species absolutely similar at all ages» and glossed
as brightly in fine specimens of either. C. affinis inhabits Tipperah,
Arracan, Tenasserim (?}, and the Nicobar Islands : while C. cantor is
eommon at Malacca.
Pastor tsmporalis, (Tem., noticed in Vol. XIII, note to p. 366,) proves
to be from China, and will rank in Stumoptutor, Hodgson. Lord Arthur
Hay has favoured the Society with a specimen from Hong Kong : and his
lordship first called my attention to the dbtinction of size between
CtUomis cantor and C. t^hUs, Here, too, may be noticed that I no longer
regard Stumus indicus, Hodg., as distinct from St. vulgaris,
Fringiilida, sub-fam. Estreldina, In Vol. XIII, 949, I endeavoured
to give a list of the Indian Mooniahs, &c., which was partly corrected in
XIV, d54. I now offer a revised list of them.
1. J. malaeca, (Lin.): Cdccothraustesjavensis, Brisson: White-breasted
Indian Sparrow of Edwards. Hab. Peninsular India.
2. A. sinensis: Coccothraustes sinensis, Biiaaoni Logia nuilacca, var.
J, Latham ; Mania rubronigra, Hodgson ; Lenehura melanocephaia,
Horsfield : Chinese Sparrow of Edwards. Bengal, Nepal, Assam, Arracan.
3. A. maja : Loxia maja^ (nee FringUla maja,) Lin. : Loxia leucoce"
phala, Raffles. As a rare Bengal species, this rests on the authority of a
most correct observer, Mr. Frith. It is common in the Malay countries,
4. A, peetoralis, Jerdon. South India.
5. A. molucca, (L.) : Mwda acnticauda, Hodgson. Nepal, Malacca.
6. A, striata, (L.) : Fringilla leuconota, Tem. South India, Arracan.
Such at least is the range of the Indian species, which Mr. Jerdon
thinks is distinct from its Malaj^an representative : the latter I have not
seen ; but, if different, it will retain the name and synonyme here applied
to the Indian bird.
* Pastor ckmensis, (L.), u figured in the PL Bnl,, to judge from a copy of that
figure sent me by Mr. Jerdon, would seem to be an aberrant species of Stumia,
having some affinity for St. sericea and St, malayensis.
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1846.] or LiUU Known Species of Birds. 37
7. A. tindulata, (Lath.) : also Lona punctularia, yar. A, Lath. ;
Jtftmui limeoventer, Hodgaon. Lidia generally. From the nearly allied
Malayan species — L. pMnctularia, (L.)» ▼. nisoria, (Tem.), — this Indian
bird is distingnished by having its upper tail-coyerts ochreous, and tail
tinged with the same; whereas A, puactularia (vera) has the tail ashy,
and its coverts barred dusky-ash and white. Mr. Jerdon first informed
me of their distinctness.
8. A, malabariea, (L.) : Lonchura cheet, Sykes ; Loma hieohr, Tickell
(nee Latham). India generally ; common in Bengal. L. malabariea apud
Latham, is the young of A, sinensis; and his L. bicolor is evidently the
immature plumage of some other species.
The Estrelda formosa, (Lath,) as I am informed by Capt. Wrough-
ton, occurs in immense flocks in the high lands where the Nerbudda
takes its rise.
FrinffiUidiB,* Several of the species described in my ' Synopsis of Indian
Fringillida,' J. A. S. XIII, 944 etseq, (1844), have since been described
by Mr. Hodgson in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society' for April,
1845. Pyrrhuloides epauletta is there termed Pyrrhoplectes epauletta.
The generic name Propyrrhula is transferred to Pyrrhospiza of my
synopsis, and Pr. punicsa described as Pr, ruheculoides, Carpodacus
(v, Erythrospiza, Bonap.) erythrinus, is designated Pyrrkolinota rose-
ata; and C rodochrous and C. rodopeplus are styled Propasser. — I
lately saw fine specimens of Pyrrhospiza punicea from the Boorendoo
Pass ; and with them a new species of restricted FringiUa, from Huttoo
mountain, near Simla, in the collection of Capt. Thomas, 89th Regiment
Bengal Native Infantry. Pyrrhospiza is but slightly removed fropi typi-
cal Fringilla, which group it connects with the various roseate Finches ;
and will most probably contain the Fr. sanguinea of Gould : and another
nearly allied form is Leucosticte, Swainson, figured in the Fauna Ame-
ricana-borealis, to which may seemingly be referred Mr. Hodgson's
* It may be remarked here that Passer nunUanus is the common Sparrow of Ja^a,
from which iiland it was long ago mentioned to have been received, in the Diet. Class.
1 had before traced it to Arracan and Malacca, and suggested its being the Siamese
Sparrow of Crswfnrd. It is common In China and Japan, also in the Himalaya, and
in Afghanistan, extending westward to the British Islands.
Of the common Indian Sparrow (P. indicus of Jardine and Selby, and * Black-
breasted Finch' of Latham), I find that some males, especially in breeding aspect of
plumage, are fully as rufous as represented, and the under- parts of both sexes are
always whitish : but the sise accords with that of the ordinary European Sparrow, to
which it is so very closely allied.
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38 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
Fringillauda; and his Procarduelis is also not far removed. A new
species of Leucosticte has lately been figured by Mr. Gould, in the
'Zoology of the Voyage of the Sulphur/ by the hybrid name griseogenys,
under which it is described in P. Z, S. 1843, p. 104. The new Finch
may be thus described —
Fringilla erythrophrys, nobis. Length of male about seven inches ; wing
three and seven-eighths ; and tail two and five-eighths ; bill to gape
above five-eighths, and tarse three-quarters of an inch. Female
rather smaller. Colour of male ruddy«brown above, darkest on the tail-
coverts ; below dull bufiy-red, mingled with weak crimson on the chin
and throat, also on the forehead, and this red passing as a broad streak
over the eye, and becoming deeper crimson posteriorly : fine specimens
in summer dress have probably the whole under-parts, with th^
forehead and eye-streak, crimson, and the back deeply tinged with
the same : the crown, ear-coverts, wings and tail, are black, not very
deep, with the three outer tail-feathers chiefly white towards the
tip. and with dark outer webs to near the end; and the other tail-
feathers are white-tipped, except the middle pair: wings marked with
white, the greater coverts of the primaries having their terminal half white,
those of the secondaries broadly tipped with the same, as are also
the outer webs of the tertiaries, and (successively more slightly) those of
the secondaries and primaries. Bill yellow, and legs light* coloured.
The female is plain brown, paler and tinged with yellowish below, darker
and a little tinged with yellowish on the crown, and having a bright
saffron eye>streak, and duller saffron-coloured or ochreous forehead;
the wings and tail are marked as in the male, but the white is less
developed; and the back is yellowish- brown. This is a true restricted
Fringilla, of the form of Fr. monti/ringilla, &c. ; but having obvious
affinities for the red Finches (Carpodacus, &c.), and shewing also a
marked relationship for Coccothraustes, and even for Carduelis,*
* Lord A. Hay informs me of what he suspects to be a new Finch, and terms
Fringilla ruhrifrons, procured during his sojourn at Simla. ** Size very small ; and
colour olive-green, striate and mingled with dirty yellow : forehead red." The parti-
cular subdivision of Finches is not stated.
There is also a very curious-looking, diminutive, Finch-like species, figured among
Dr. McClelland's drawings of Assamese birds. The size and plumage are very Wren'
like ; with a bill approaching in form that of a Chaffinch : colouring deep isabelline or
buff, with dusky rays on the wings and tail, and the primaries edged with white. The
immediate affinities are by no means obvious.
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Emberisa da, Lin. (mentioned in Royle's list) : E. barbata, Scopoli ;
E, lotharingiea, Qm, Length six inches and a half : of wing three inches ;
and tail two and three-quarters. Upper^parts mfescent-brown, brighter
on the tail-coverts» and marked, except on the latter, with a black central
streak to each feather : crown dosky, with some inconspicuous rufous
edges to the feathers, a pale medial coronal line, and a broad whitish
superdlium ; a black line passes beneath the latter through the eye, and
partly surrounds the pale ear-coverts, and another black streak proceeds
downward from the base of the lower mandible ; the chin, throat, and
breast, are dingy grey, with slight dusky spots in front of the neck ;
and the rest of the lower-parts are uniform light ruddy-brown, with
traces of dark streaks on the flanks: wings dusky, the feathers mar-
gined with the rufescent-brown of the back; and the two outermost tail-
feathers on each side are chiefly white, except on their narrow outer webs.
Bill pale plumbeous, and legs light-coloured. Also procured in the vici-
nity of Simla by Capt. Thomas, who has obligingly presented it to
the Society.* According to Messrs. Dickson and Ross, this bird is com-
mon in the vicinity of Erzeroum, being found near mill-streams, and in
burying grounds. P. Z. 8. 1839, p. 132.
Mr. Hodgson, in Proc, Zool, 8oc, 1845, p. 35, states that, in Nepal, —
" We have four species of Emberiza, three of which are the erythroptera,
chlorocephala, and aureola, of authors ; and the fourth," he adds, *' is, I
think, new, — Emberiza oinops, mihi, — a new subgenus, Ocyris, mihi."
Of these four, the first now bears the name Lathami, Ghray f ; the second
is, beyond doubt, my melanops, J. A. S. XIV, 554, which was recog-
nized by Mr, Hodgson when in Calcutta, as a species familiar to him,
and it is quite distinct from E, hortulana (v. chlorocephala,) of Europe]: ;
* I have since been informed that it is there common. Lord A. Hay procured many
specimens ; and mentions abo another species ** closely allied to it, but differing in
having a large liver-brown spot on the cheek, and in some other particulars." The
liver-brown spot in question is possessed by B,/ucata and by B, pusiUa (fj.
t Lord A. Hay possesses this bird from Hong Kong; and Mr. Jerdon considers it to
be the Moineau de Macao of Buffon, ** and if so it will bear the prior, but certainly in-
appropriate, name of melanictera, Vieillot."
X Since the above was penned, the Norwegian collection has supplied us with a
specimen of the European Ortolan, B, hortulana : its upper-parts are nearly as in B.
mekmopt, but the face and abdominal region are wholly different; the latter is nearly
of the same rufous tint as in B. da, but mingled with yellowish ; while in B. melanops
the abdominal region is pure light yellow, with dusky streaks on the flanks.
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40 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
the third, E. aureola, is common also in Tipperah and Arracan ; and the
fourth, I greatly suspect, is E, pusUla, Pallas, and certainly the same
as that described from a female specimen in XIII, 958, by the name JS.
sordida, Hodgson. I add the description of a male, which I lately
saw from Daijeeling.
E. pusilla (?), Pallas. Length about five inches and a half, wing
two inches and three-eighths, and outermost tail-feather two and a
quarter ; the tail forked to the depth of five-sixteenths of an inch : bill
to forehead three-eighths, and tarse above five-eighths, of an inch;
Upper-parts streaky, the feathers black-centred, set off with rufous, and
this margined with greyish-brown ; the rufous colour more developed on
the scapularies and rump : crown, lores, and ear-coverts, rufous ; super-^
cilium and chin pale rufescent, and above the superciUum is a broad
black streak, the feathers of which are slightly rufous-edged : wings
dusky, the feathers externally margined with ruddy*olive, and tipped
paler: tail having a broad oblique white streak on the outermost
feather, and a narrow one on the penultimate : lower- parts whitish, with
a dusky line on each side of the throat, and streaks of the same on the
breast and flanks. Bill horn-coloured, and legs pale. This species is
somewhat allied to E./ucata, Pallas.*
Alaudina. Alauda raytal, Buch. Ham., nobis, ^XIII, 962. This bird
abounds on the white sand-dunes of the Hooghly, where the stream, un-
checked by the tide, deposits only fine sand, and the alluvial country
round (from this cause) is everywhere light and arenaceous : this Sand
Lark being scarcely ever seen except on the flat deposits of white sand
within each bend of the stream ; but there they are very numerous^
and (as usual) their colour approximates that of the surface. Fine
specimens measure five inches and five-eighths, by ten inches ; wing
three and a quarter ; and tail two inches : bill to gape five*eighths,
and tarse three-quarters of an inch ; toes short, the hind -claw
* Loxia Jlavicans, var. ^., Latham, =^Bmh, icterica^ Evenh. : his Emb» luteola is
perhaps the female of E, melanocephala, but agrees with that of B. aureola : his
* Goura Finch* is B, Lathami (w. fnelanictera f) i his FrmgiUa biUyraeea, L., is
CHthagra chrysopogon^ Sw. (* Birds of W. Africa'), which is occasionally brought
alive to India from the Mauritius, and kept as a cage-bird : FringUla stuHa, Ind.
Tar., is doubtless Gymnoris JiavicoUis : and his Loxia totta and madagaseariensis of
India,=sCarpo<lactf« erythrinuSy as was long ago pointed out by Mr. Jerdon.
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Birde. 4 i
barely exceeding a quarter of an inch.* Irides very dark brown ; bill
wkitiBh, with a slight tinge of doaky above ; and legs albesoent>oome-
ouB, the toes pale dusky-brown. The young have a very whitish ap-
pearance, from the downy character of their feathers ; and all the usual
mottlings of young Larks are exhibited by them, though less oonspi-
CQoualy than in most other Larks. A, rayial is not much of a mu-
sician ; but often ventures on short snatches of song, frequently without
rising from the ground, and I never saw it mount high like its musical
neighbour, the A. gulgula, whose habits and song closely resemble
those of A. arvensit : the haunts of these two species border, and
they may commonly be seen and heard at the same time ; but this will
be on the confines of each others territory. Upon ascending the river
Hoogly, a considerable change both in the animal and vegetable pro-
ductions of its banks is soon perceptible, with the change of the hce of
the country that has been alluded to. The White Vulture (Neophron
perenopterue) makes its appearance, which is never seen lower down
upon the argillaceous or mud soil ; Buteo eaneecena is common ; and
various little insessorial birds which I have never seen near Calcutta,
as Mttlaeocercus caudatue, Chrysomma sinenee, Cietieola cursitam,
the true British Curruea gnrrula, Amadina malabarica, &c., &c., abound
more or less ; the fauna altogether more approximating that of Hin-
doostan Proper, and I have no doubt that it would soon yield various
novelties to a diligent collector.
Genua CerthUauda^ XIII, 962. There are two closely allied species
of Indian Certkiiauda, differing only in size : the larger of which, with
wing four inches long, must be the true C. ckendoola, (Franklin,) des-
cribed to be of the size of the British Sky Lark ; while the smaller,
referred to C. ehendooia, loe» cii., has the wing but three inches and a
half, or less, and the rest in proportion: the latter may now rank,
is CBofsU, nobis (the Society being indebted to Captain Boys for
a fine specimen of the former species, which has led to its descri-
mination). One of them is the ' Crested Calandre Lark' of Latham.f
• The hind-daw of this Alauda resembles that of the CerthUaudm and Pyrrhuktudm,
u does also its light sandy-coloured plumage ; but its other characters are those of
restricted Alauda.
t Latham's * Aggta Lark' is Alauda gulguia ; his * Finch Lark'sA/trq/f-a assa-
mtca; his *Baag-geyra huk' asCalandrella hraehydactyla ; his * Slender Lark's
Antims tnalayensis; his * Yellow-headed Lark' can only be Budytes citreola; and
his * Wagtail Lark' is the female common Budytes,
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42 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
In the ' Madras Journal/ No. XXXI, 136, Mr. Jerdon considers hur
A, deva (A. malaharica apud nos,) to be an aberrant Certhilauda, nearly
allied to C. Boyn i .* bnt, if so, he must have sent the Society another
species as his A. deva ; for the specimen referred to, is a true Aiauda,
closely allied to A, gulptla, but with a pointed crest, and quite agreeing
with Scopoli's description upon which is founded A. maiabariea,
Omelin ; whereas Mirafra affinis, Jerdon, which Mr. Strickbnd conn*
dered to be the nudaharica, has too short a wing for that bird, and also
does not accord in other particulars.
Genus Accentor, Bechstein. This remarkable genus seems to come
in no where better than on the extreme verge of the Frinpllida, which
I believe to be its natural location.* Mr. Hodgson has recently described
(in P. Z. 8. 1845, p. 34), in addition to Ace. nipalensis and Ace.
strophiatus, J. A. S, XII, 958-9, an Aco. eacharensis and an Ace. tin*.
maculatus. Specimens, however, with which that gentleman fovoured the
Society, having those names attached, I consider to be decidedly of
one and the same species in different states of plumage ; and I have
described each of these phases in my notice of Ace. nipalensis. Refer-
ring now to Mr. Hodgson's specimens which were so labelled, I
still consider his Ace. immaculatus to be the adult in worn plumage,
which I mentioned in my description of this bird to have been forwarded
as distinct ; but I cannot equally well reconcile the description of Aec.
eacharensis with the only young specimen retained for the Museum,
though I still greatly doubt its distinctness. I know four well marked
Himalayan species of Accentor, all of which have been described by me
in the Society's Journal, viz. Ace. nipalensis, Aec. variegatus. Ace.
strophiatus, and Aec. mollis, (vide XiV, 581).
The Fringillida peiSB to the softer-billed birds through the great
American series of the Tanagrtnes ; and from them I believe there is a
pretty complete gradation to the Cerahina, or South American Honey-
suckers. The latter are quite distinct from any of the nectar-feeding
genera of the Old World, which may nevertheless follow, and we com-
mence the series of them with the Neeiariniad^, (passing over the true
Promeropida, in which Irrisor does not rank).
Genus Arachnothera, Temminck, treated of in XII, 981, and fur-
• When writing the above, I had not remarked Mr. Hodgson's expressed opinion
to the same effect. P, Z. 5. 1845, p. 34.
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1846.] or Little Kwwn Speciei of Bird$. 43
ther notieed in XiV, 5S7. The Society has now eight species of this
genoB, a revision of which has become necessary.
1. A, magna, (Hodgson) : vide XII, 981. Hah. Nepal, Assam, and
Arracan.
2. A. flavigaster, (Byton) : vide XIV. 557. Malacca.
3. A. chryiog9ny9y Tern., vide XV, 98h Malay coontnes. This and
the preceding species are allied, but differ much in size : and A. fianu
fatter has a broad drcle of yellow feathers surrounding the eye, in ad*
diti<m to the ear-tuft ; whereas A. ckrysogemfs is naked under the eye,
and has a aenii-drde of yellow feathers above it.
4. A, uwmaia. Tern, (nee apud nos, XII, 982) : dnnyris afiaie,
Horsfield. Closely allied to the next, but larger, of a brighter and more
yellowish green above, the under-parts greyer, and marked more decid-
edly (especially on the breast) with a dark central streak to each fea-
ther. Inhabits Java.
5. A. modeita, (Eyton) : A. latirostris, nobis, vide XII, 982. Malacca.
6. A. ' ■■ - ■ ? Temminek. Allied to the next, but much larger ;
the throat and breast dull albescent-green, with an obscure central dusky
streak to each feather ; belly and lower tail-coverts pale yellow ; and a tuft
of orange-yellow feathers on each side of the lower breast, ordinarily
oonoealed beneath the wing. Length of wing three inches and a quarter ;
of tail two and a quarter ; and bill to forehead two inches. FVom Java.
7. A, langirottrai (Lath.) Smaller than the last, with the same pec-
toral tufts under each wing ; but the throat and fore-neck are spotless
dear doll white, and the abdomen is much deeper yellow. Also from
Java.
8. A. affinis, nobis ; A. inomata, apud nos. XII, 982. Very like the
last, but always smaller, and duller-coloured ; the abdomen of a weaker
and greener yellow, and rarely a trace (and at most a very slight one)
of the orange pectond tufts. Inhabits the Eastern coast of the Bay of
Bengal, from Arracan to Malacca; and Mr. Jerdon obtained a single
specimen of it in the Mysore district, bordering the Neilgherries.
Respecting the other genera of this group, I have little now to add :
the Nectarinia are treated of in XII, 969, et seq., and XIV, 557 * ; and
• Nectarinia malaccensis, (Scop.), lepida, (Lath.)» and/owrnica, Horsf., refer to
the same species.
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44 Notices and Descriptimu of various New [No. 169.
the Dicceum group also on the latter occaftion.'^ Mr. Gould has rec^itly
figured a curious little Australian bird by the name Smikromis flaveacena,
the form and colouring of which approximate those of Piprisama agile ;
and it seems to lead thence to the hitherto isolated Australian genus
Pardalotus, Should this affinity be real, a gradation would be here shewn
from the Malayan Prionochilus to the Australian Pardalotus; and the
position of the latter genus be thus affirmed.
Fam. Meliphagida. The most decided Indian representative of this
Australian group, occurs in the genus Zosterops,- treated of in XIV, 562
et seq. ; and the sole Indian species is evidently the Sylvia palpebrosa,
Temminck, p. c. 292, f. 3, as described in Griffith's ' Animal Kingdom/
VI, 451 ; but whether this, or the name annulosus, (Swainson), should
hold precedence, I have not the means of determinmg. The Z. borbonicus
doubtfully referred to this genus in XIV, 564, is, I perceive, on more
minute inspection, a decided Zosterops, having the same circle of fea-
thers round the eye, only of a dusky hue, instead of the silky- white
which renders this circle so conspicuous in its congeners. It Ib the
Z. cinerea, Swainson, ' Menageries,' p. 294 .f Perhaps the genus lora
(treated of in XIII, 380, and XIV, 602,) may come within the
extreme confines of. the Meliphagida : and though not much aUied to
lora (so far as I can perceive), I have less hesitation in bringing the
Orioles under the same group.| An Australian species of true Oriole
(Gracula viridis of Shaw) has, indeed, been long regarded as a Me/t-
* Lord Arthur Hay has discovered a new Dicceum in the neighbourhood of Simla,
which he designates D. sangwmifrons. ** Forehead, occiput, and chin, a rich bloods
orange red — more orange than red in dry skins; lower-parts golden-yellow : upper>parts
the same, mingled with olive." Dr. Horsfield's Javanese D, cruentatum^ described in
XIV, note to p. 558, is Z>. rubrocanum^ (Tern.)
t I named one Mauritius species, Z. curvirostriSt in XIV, 563 ; but I find this
name has been anticipated by Mr. Swainson, for the ** Dicceum chloronotus of the
Paris Museum" (vide * Birds of W. Africa,' Nat. JJbr., Orn., VIII, 44). If, how-
ever, the latter had been described by the specific name eMoronotus^ Mr. Swtiinson
could have no right to change it, at least without assigning a sufficient reason for so
doing; and if undescribed before, it does not appear that Mr. Swainson has published
any description of it, that should establish his right of nomenclature.
My Z, mcobaricuSy XIV, 563, would seem to be merely the young of Z* patpehro^
9U9; though I have never seen an Indian specimen in the same plumage. Examples
in the ordinary adult garb of Z. palpebrosus have now been received by the Society
from the Nicobars.
% This is an opinion to which I have long been leaning ; and I pointed out the affi-
nity of Plectrorhynclia lanceolata^ Gould, to the Orioles, even to the form of its
nest, in XII> 180 (bis).
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 45
pkoffuhms bud, and nnder the generic name Mimeta, has been dassed
in the present fiunil]^. Mr. Qould, in his great work on the birds of
Aostndia, has lately established its trae generic position; which in«
deed had been previously indicated by varioos other systematists.
In XI, 797, 1 made some attempt to review the Asiatic Orioles, and
shall now (with much more extensive materials) resume the subject.
The species are as follow : —
1. O. 7Vat//tt; Pastor TraUiii, Vigors. and Gould. Common in
the eastern Himalaya, and occurs in Assam, Arracan, and Burmah. This
bird has been placed* in all sorts of genera, certain of which have been
established for its reception, as Psarophiius of Jardine and Selby : Mr.
Hodgson long ago recorded his opinion that it is a true Oriole,
and in this I qmte coincide. Mr. G. R. Gray refers it to Analcipus
of Swainson, founded on Ocypterus sanguinolentus of Temminck, p,
e. 499 ; and another species which Mr. Swainson arranges with
it, is his An. hirundinaeeus, (Nat. Libr., ' Menageries', p. 284,) a
bird which he also assigns to India; but Mr. Strickland, who has
recently examined the originals (now at Cambridge) of many of Mr.
Swainson's descriptions, writes me word that the species in question is
scarcely separable from Artamus (u, Ocypterus) ^ and that it is labelled
from Madagascar. How, therefore, such a bird can have any near
affinity for an Oriole, and a most decided Oriole (in my opinion), is far
from being easy to understand.
2. O. melanocephalus, lin.: 0. maderaspatanus, Franklin (the female) ;
O.McCoshii, Tickell (young male). Very common in Bengal, also in
Nepal, Assam, Arracan, and southward to the Tenasserim Provinces ;
and in some parts of the Peninsula of India, whilst in other parts it is
radier scarce. Length of a male nine inches and a half, by sixteen
inches ; wing five and a quarter, and tail three and a half ; of a female
nine and a quarter, by fifteen inches : bill to forehead an inch and
three-eighths ; to gape, one and five-eighths ; tarse seven-eighths of an
inch. The black-headed Oriole of South Africa, considered identical by
Sykes {P. Z. S. 1835, p. 62), is a conspicuously different species, with
no yellow on the wings: it is the Tardus monaehus, Gm., termed
0. capensis by Swainson ; who also names another black-headed Oriole,
more nearly allied to the Indian species, but from Sierra Leone, O.
hrachyrhynchus, (* Birds of West Africa.* Nat, Libr,)
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46 Notices and De»cnpiion$ of various New [No. 169.
In his *' Two centenaries and a quarter of new or little known birds."
appended to his yolume on * Menageries/ in the ' Natoridists' library,*
Mr. Swainson has also described an Oriolui Hodgsom, said to be from
Nepal ; but of numerous Nepalese and other Himalayan specimens, 1
have seen none that could be referred to it. It is stated to resemble
O. melanocephalua, except that it is " much smaller, and the tips of the
quills are white instead of yellow : middle feathers of the tail yellow,
with a black bar nearly across their centre. Total length about seven
inches : bill from gape, an inch ; to front, eight«tenths : wings four
inches and eight-tenths ; tail beyond, seven-tenths : tarse seven-tenths."
This notice may perhaps lead to its recognition.
3. O. chinet^ais, Lin. : 0. cochinchinensist Brisson ; O. acrorhynehos^
Vigors, P. Z. iS. 1831, p. 97: CauUxuan of Bujffbn. This bird, which
is not Indian, is remarkable for its very large and highly carinated beak,
which is particularly deep at base, and drawn out to a fine point.
Forehead yellow, not extending back beyond the hind-part of the eye :
lores, spreading above and below the eye, and forming an occipital patch
broader than the yellow of the forehead, deep black ; this does not,
however, reach forward quite to the nares : posterior half of the wing,
comprising also the winglet and coverts of the primaries, black;
the rest of the wing, or anterior half, bright yellow : tail black, its
middle feathers tipped with yellow for three-eighths of an inch, the next
for an inch and a half on its outer web, and the outermost for two
inches on both webs. Length of wing six inches ; of bill to forehead an
inch and a half, or nearly so ; and of tail four inches. Inhabits China
and Manilla.
4. O. macrouruB, nobis. Closely allied to O. ehinensis, from which
it is distinguished by its longer tail, n^er smaller and less carinated
beak (which however is always conspicuously larger than in the next
species), and by the greater patch of yellow upon the forehead of
the male : another distinction consists in the disposition of the yellow
upon the tail, which has scarcely any of this colour at the tips of its
middle pair of feathers, while the outermost is in old males wholly
yellow, with merely the shaft black towards the base, — some specimens
shewing one or two insulated patches of yellow, chiefly at the extreme
base of the outer web, — and younger males having the tail coloured more
as in the adults of the Chinese species, but still with scarcely a trace
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Sirde. 47
of yellow at the tips of the middle pair of feathers. The wings have
their longest primaries slightly margined externally with whitish, and in
some specimens there is a slight yellow horder to the secondaries and
tertiaries ; while younger males have the whole exterior portion of the
seeondsries and tertiaries washed with yellowish-olive. The coverts of
the primaries are always tipped with yellow, producing a slight spot of
this hue, which does not occur (tX least in the adult male of) O. chmen*
eie. Younger males have, as usual, the back and wings tinged with dusky
greenish; and in females (and perhaps still younger males), the same
dnll colour prevails on the head and neck, the broad black occipital
crescent is merely indicated, the feathers of the under*parts haye
eadi a black central stripe, and the tail is wholly dusky yellowish above,
prevailing throughout the outer webs of all the feathers, while the inner
webs are successively more deeply terminated with yellow,— this colour
being alone seen underneath, in adults of both sexes'. Length about
eleven inches, or rather more ; of wing six ; and tail four and a half to
five inches : bill to gape an inch and a half, and tarse an inch. Inhabits
the Nieobar Islands.
5. O. indicw, Brisson, Jerdon, III. Ind. Om, pi. XV : O. cMneneie
et eoehinchinensie of India, auctorum : k Loriot dee Indee, Buffon. This
differs from the two preceding in its considerably smaller bill ; in the
yellow of the forehead extending further back beyond the eye, reducing
the black occipital crescent, which latter is continued forward in adults,
through the ocular region, quite to the nares ; in the greenish tinge of
the back, even of old males; and very conspicuously in the much
greater extent of the yellow upon its wings, while the tail has less than
in O. chineneie, and its middle feathers have rarely distinct yellow tips :
in 0. chineneis, and some specimens of 0. macrourue, the secondaries
and tertiaries are wholly deep black ; whereas, in the present species,
the secondaries are broadly margined, and the tertiaries have their whole
outer web and part of the inner web, greenish-yellow ; the pri-
maries are tipped with the same; and a bright yellow wing-spot is
formed by the tips of the coverts of the primaries. Younger males
have much more of the green tinge above and on the wings, and the
nnder-parts are much weaker yellow, with black stems to the breast-
feathers, more or less developed. They evidently increase in bright-
ness of colouring for several years. Females are yellowish'green
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48 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 169.
aboye, with little or no trace of the occipital crescent; whitish be-
neath, with dark central lines; bill infuscated, instead of pinkish*
white, as in the males ; and the shape of the beak will always readily
diiitinguish them from the same sex of O. kundoo. Length of wing six
inches to six and a quarter in bright old males, often not more than
five inches and a half in younger males ; bill to forehead an inch and
one*eighth, or a sixteenth more. Rather a rare bird in India generally,
and I have never seen it from the Himalaya. About Calcutta it is very
rare ; but in the countries eastward of the Bay it is generally common,
as in the island of Ramree (Airacan), in the Tenasserim Provinces, and
Malay peninsula. The Society also possess it from China.
6. 0. coronatus, Swainson ; O. hippocrepis, Wagler. With this Ma-
layan species I am unacquainted, and shall merely cite the following
passage from Mr. Jerdon's description of the last, in his ' Illustrations of
Indian Ornithology.' " Swainson's 0. coronatus from Java (as described,)
differs from our peninsular O. indieus, in its smaller size, shorter wings,
tail, and tarsus, and in the narrowness of the black nuchal band. Its
bill appears to be somewhat larger than in ours, but shorter than in
chinensis, Wagler's description of 0. hippocrepis (which he considers
the same as ehinensis, auct.,) corresponds with it in the yellow tips
of the central tail-feathers, and with our peninsular bird in having the
black ocular band extending to the nares, and in other points. As,
however, his specimens were obtained chiefly from Java and Sumatra,
it is most probably Swainson's coronatus, with which it indeed agrees
pretty nearly in dimensions. The latter are given as nine inches and
a half total length, wing five and three-tenths, tail three and a half, bill
to forehead an inch and two-tenths, and tarse eight-tenths."
7. O. tenuirostris, nobis. An evident young male, resembles the corres-
.pondingage of O. indicus, except in the shape and colour of its bill, in
the much greater extent of the yellow on its forehead, and propor-
tionate contraction of the black occipital crescent, also, in its rump having
much less yellow, relieving the greenish hue of the back and wings. As
in the young male 0. indicus, and fully adult O, cMnensis and O. macrou'
rus, the black of the lores is not continued forward to the nares ; but the
separation of colours is abrupt and decided, probably indicating a simi-
larity of extent in the adults : the whole crown is yellow, the black of the
occiput not rising above the level of the eye. Wing mostly greenish, the
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coverts which show externally not being tipped with yellow, as in the
corresponding age of 0. indicus; but the tertiaries have narrow yellow
tips, which also are less developed on the secondaries, and upper-
most primaries. Bill longer and much more slender than in 0. indicus,
and of a slightly arched form; its colour fleshy apparently at base, but
red for the remainder as in 0. ffalbula. Length about ten inches, of
wing five and three-quarters, and tail three and a half; bill to forehead
an inch and a quarter, and tarse seven-eighths. I believe, but am not
sure, that the specimen here described is from Central India. There
can be no doubt of its distinctness as a species.
8. O. ktmdoo, Sykes (the female) : O. galbula apud Sykes (the male),
and of Franklin's catalogue : 0. aureus, Jerdon's CataL : and doubtless
0. galbuloides of Gk>uld, mentioned in P, Z. 5. 1841, p. 6. This is
the Indian 0. galbula, auctorum. It invariably differs from the Euro-
pean speeies in having a larger bill, and in the black streak from the
bill being continued backward beyond the eye in the males : from the
African O. auratus, Swainson, it differs in the colouring of its wings,
which resemble those of 0. galbula. This bird, so very common in the
Indian peninsula, and which extends up to the N.W. Himalaya, occurs
also in the hilly parts of Bengal, as Rajmahl and Monghyr, and at
Midnapore; these hills being off-shoots from the ranges of Central India,
and partaking of the fauna of the latter in numerous other instances ;
but in the vicinity of Calcutta I have never met with it, nor seen it
in any collection from the countries eastward : the Calcutta specimens
which, on a former occasion, I referred to 0. galbula (and afterwards
termed aureus), proving to be females of 0. indicus.
9. 0. xanthonotus, Horsfield : 0. leucogaster, Reinwardt : O. casta-
nopterus, nobis, J, A, S, XI, 795, (the young male). Peculiar to the
Malay countries.
Another very distinct group as a genus, which, though less allied to
other Meliphagida than I consider the Orioles to be, yet offers (in at
least the majority of its species) those adaptive characters which many
would term the essential features of the family, is that of Phyllornis
(vel Chloropsis), treated of in XIV, 364 et seq. To what is said there,
and before, concerning this group, I shall now only add that the young
of Ph, Hardwiekii may as well be described, in order perhaps to check
its being brought forward as a new species. The plumage is green,
more yellowish underneath, the throat pale yellowish, and there is a
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50 Notices and Descrtpticms of various New [No. 169.
little blue mingled with the yellowish on the moustaches : a trace of
blue also on the shoulder of the wing, and upon tke outer primaries
and butermost tail-feathers.*
The PbyUonds group conducts to the Bulbouls, treated of in XiV,
566 et seq, : and the affinity of this distinct family for that of the Meli^
phaffidee is, I think» undeniable. I have little now to add elucidative
of a group so lately under review ; but may remark, that Lord A. Hay
considers the Pyenonotus htemorrhmis of the Upper Provinces to be dis-
tinct, from that of S. India,, and proposes the name int^rmedius for the
former. There is this much dijSerence, that it would be generally easy
to pronounce \diether a specimen was from Northern or Southern
India, the formter having the colours generally better defined, especially
the pale margins to the feathers of the upper-parts, and the tail also
is commonly longer : but loolcing to a series of these Inrds, from Qoom-
soor, Agra, and Arracan» I do not see that they can be defined tipart. Ot
P. leucogenySy Capt. Boys informs me, that it is common down the Indus
from Buhawulpore ; and that he has lately obtained it near Ferozepore.
A P. ru/ocaudaius has recently been described by Mr. Eyton, An,
and M<Mg, iST. £/. 1845, p. 228, which must be put as a synonyme Of
Criniger gularis (Horsf.), J, A, S., XIV, 571. Mr. Eyton also des-
cribes an Ia:os metallicus, which would seem to be allied, except in
size, to Braehypodiua melanQcephalus, XIV, 576* The Dirdusindicus, Gm.,
as represented in Buffoa's figure,, of which a copy has been obligingly
sent me by Mr. Jerdon, would certainly appear to be a very difierent
species from Criniger ? icterieus, Strickland, which Mr. Jerdoo had re-
ferred to T, indictts (as noticed in XIV, 570). Lastly, the name Ixodia,
nobis, XIV, 577, has been forestalled in Botany ; as Ixodes (as I first had
it) had been previously applied to a genus of Spiders ; so I shaH now take
refuge in Ixidia, which I trust has remained^ hitherto unattached. f
Among our late acquisitions from the Nicobars, I must not omit to
mention several specimens of Ixodnda virescens, nobis, XIV, 575 ; and
of all ages« from youth to maturity. The species is quite distinct from
* The * Blue-cbinned Thnuh' of Latham refers to PhyUomi» Jgrdoni ; and CJkio^
ropsis gampsorhynchus (mispelt ceesmarhynchos)^ apud Tickell, should have been
assigned to the same : my originally mistaking this bird for the female of another spe-
cies, ocoasioned me to give it as a synonyme of the latter.
t Latham's ' Hooded Tbrush' refers to Pycnonotus leucogenys ; his Twdus eopeis-
sis, Ind. var., probably to P.Jlavirictus; his T. caJeTf from India, to P. benffalensis;
and his * Tufted Thrush* to P. mektnoeephaius.
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1846.] or LUtle Known Species of Birds. 5 1
Hypsipetes malaccensis, nobis, but can scarcely be placed in a different
sob-generic gronp ; and I think it will rank best as an aberrant Hypsi*
petes, showing a marked affinity for Iole» The bill is rather shorter
than in H. makKcensis, and the coronal feathers tend less to assume
the pointed form : length about eight inches and a half, of wing from
three and a half to nearly four inches, and tail three inches and a half;
bill to gape an inch, in some, an eighth more; tarse three-quarters
of an inch : the tail is a little graduated, but inclines to assume the true
Hypsipetes shape. Plumage of a unifoign olive-green above, thp crown
infuscated, or of a brownish-nigrescent hue : throat and breast dingy-
whitish, a little tinged with yellow ; the rest of the lower-<parts more
deeply and conspicuously tinged with yellow. Bill dusky, with yellow
tomiae, and elsewhere an appearance of its becoming ultimately wholly
yellow : the tarsi plumbeous. The nestling tertiaries remaining on the
specimen formerly described, and the outer webs of the nestling prima-
ries, are of a dingy chesnut colour ; and there is a shade of the same
upon Uie tail. The same appears to be the case with the young of
H» malaccensis ; and the two species considerably resemble at first sight,
hot the present may readily be distinguished by its infuscated crown,
and its uostreaked throat and breast. £. B.
(To he continued* J
Postscript. — I have already to acknowledge another interesting col-
lection, partly from the Nicobars and partly from Penang, just received
from our esteemed contributor, the Rev. J. Barbe.
Among the birds, is a finer male of Palaornis erythrogenys (note to
p. 23, ante,) than that previously described ; having the nape and inter-
scapularies light yellowish, rather than tinged with hoary-grey, and
the under-parts also more yellowish than in the other.*
Of Todiramphus occipitalis (loc. citj, it would seem that I described
females and young only ; for what I take to be the males are consider-
ably brighter, with the wings and tail much bluer, of a decided Prussian
bloe, the black nuchal collar (continued from the ear-coverts) is much
narrower, and in some tinged with blue, and the white supercilia (carri-
ed round the occiput) have little or even no tinge of rufous.
* Dr. Cantor poMesses a female of P, caniceps, nobis floe* cU,Jf from the Malay
peninsula. It has the tail developed to the usual leng^th in this genus ; ind green
above with some blue on its middle feathers, and dull golden-yellowish below; the'
head less pure grey than in the male ; and the bill wholly black, as I suggested it
would be in this sex.
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52 Notices and Descriptious of various New [No. 169.
Picus moluccensis {vems, p. 16), identical with the Javanese species,
is sent from Penang ; and I find that it is Mr. Eyton's Tripsurus auritus.
An, and Mag, N, H,, 1845, p. 229, — another synonyme to be added to
those reduced in p. 14 : Mr. Eyton also describes fioc. eit,) a Ptci»
rubiginosfts, which is a Gecinus most nearly allied to G, malaceensiM,
and has been subsequently described by Lord A. Hay as P. melanogaster,
Madr, Joum. No. XXXI, p. 153 : but Bucco quadricolor, Eyton, is dis*
tinct from both the species with which its identity is suggested at
p. 14 ante, «
The most interesting specimens, however, in this collection, are a pair
of adults of the Megapodius of the Nicobar IsUnds, and also two undoubt-
ed ' eggs of this bird, of which Captain Lewis prepared only a chick.
So remarkable a species may be at once described^ however, out of its
place in «the present series.
M. nieobariensis, nobis. Length about fifteen inches, and of wing
nine inches ; tarse two inches and a half; middle toe an inch and five-
eighths, and its daw three-quarters of an inch ; hind-claw seven-eightiis.
Foot rather small for a Megapodius, the middle toe and claw but litUe
exceeding the two lateral in length. General hue of the upper- parts deep
olive-brown with a tinge of ochreous, which becomes more decided on the
wings ; lower-parts dingy greyish-brown, with a slight tinge of ochreous
on the breast, and which prevails throughout the under- parts of a presum-
ed female : crown slightly rufescent-brown, prolonged into a short crest,
and the occipital feathers impended by the coronal are light greyish :
lores, cheeks, and throat, almost naked: the primaries light ochreous on
their outer webs, and dusky internally : bill yellow : and legs and claws
dark horn-coloured. The chick is coloured nearly as in the adult, but is
mottled with faint russet on the wings, and the abdomen has a rufous
tinge ; the feathers of the head, neck, and breast, having a peculiar hair-
like structure. The presumed egg is of a true elliptical shape, or with the
small end just distinguishable, measuring three inches and a half in
length, and being of an uniform somewhat ruddy stone-colour. The habits
of this bird would appear to resemble precisely those of M. tumului des-
cribed by Mr. Qould. Captain Lewis had seen the mounds, and the
birds upon them ; but was unaware that the latter had been the accu-
mulators of such huge heaps of material. Upon shewing him Mr.
Gould's description of the habits of the Australian species, he remarked
that the same account would equally apply to the Nicobar bird, except
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 53
that he had observed no heaps quite so large as some of those des-
cribed by Mr. Gould. The eggs were sent by Mr. Barbe, with merely
a notice that they had been " found in the sand."
I have further to acknowledge a rich collection of New Holland
specimens, just received from the Australian Museum at Sydney. In
Vol. XIV, p. 546, I made a few remarks on Mr. Gould's magnifi-
cent work on the birds of Australia, and therefore I shall further notice
here, that Mr. Gould's Carpophaga leucomeia is not a Carpopkaga, but
a Dendrotreron apud Hodgson, ranking with C Hodgsonii, C, arquatris,
and C guinea, auctorum, having but twelve tail-feathers, &c. &c. : and that
Mr. Gh)uld's distinctions of Ewrystomus australis from Eu* orientalis are
very erroneous ; as these two species exactly agree in size and structure :
but the former is readily distinguished by having the black of the head
confined to the lores, and by the brownish hue of the crown and nape,
of which no trace occurs in the species of India and the Malay countries ;
which latter has the whole head and cheeks blackish, and the nape and
back concolorous with the scapularies, in addition to its blue being of a
deeper tint. Lastly, the Anous melanops figured by Mr. Gould, is cer-
tainly identical with a species in the Society's Museum, from the Bengal
Soonderbuns ; and which I can scarcely doubt will prove to be the Ster*
na tenuirosiris, Tem., from the western shore of the Indian Ocean, or,
in other words, the eastern coast of Africa.
Chrysocoecyx smaragdinus, nobis. In XI, 917, I considered certain
little Cuckoos to be specifically identical, which are respectively inhabi-
tants of India, the Malay countries, and Australia. A better series of
specimens now convinces me that three species are here confounded.
That of India has already received a name, being the Trogon ntaculatus,
Gkn.. founded on the spotted Gurucui of Brown's Illustrations, which
certainly represents a variety, or incidental state of plumage, of this
species ; but the name is so very inapplicable to the species generally,
that it cannot justly be adopted. The presumed male and female des-
cribed, loc. cit., as C. lucidus refer to this species : another presumed
female, from Arracan, tends to the hepaticus, plumage common to many
Cuckoos, having the head jshesnut, the back still more cupreous than in
the supposed female formerly described, and the lower-parts closely
barred throughout with coppery-green upon a white ground, except the
lower tail-coverts' which are chiefly banded with green and deep rufous:
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54 Notices and Deseriptians, 8fC.
the tail has its middle-feathers shining green, with a dusky purplish
band at tip, — the next pair similar, but with deep rufous broadly margin-
ing the basal half of their outer webs,— -this rufous is successively more
developed on the two succeeding pairs, — and the outermost has its ex-
terior web and the contiguous portion of its inner web pure white,
banded with shining green, which extends also over the rufous portion
of the inner web : terminal third of the bill dusky, the rest translucent
pale straw-yellow in the ^dry specimen. Another supposed female is
throughout in the hepaiicus plumage, or rufous above, white below,
with greenish- dusky bars throughout, the outermost tail-feather marked
with white chiefly on its exterior web, and the two next tail«-feathera
slightly tipped with white : bill, with the basal half amber-colonr-
ed, the remainder dusky. Another, again, is of a predominant dull
glossy green above, with the same rufous and white on the tail, but its
middle-feathers are also obscurely barred with rufous, and most of the
wing- feathers are margined with the same : bill wholly dusky. Lastly,
another is chiefly of a dusky hue above, scarcely glossed with greenish,
the feathers having slight rufous margins more developed on the wings ;
and tail as in the last. In all, however, the under- parts are much more
closely banded than in the Australian species ; and the wing measures
generally four inches, or sometimes four and a quarter in adults. In*
habits the hilly parts of India, but seems to be everywhere rare. Brown
figures it from Ceylon ; and I have seen it from Central India, Rajmahl,
Arracan, &c.
Chr, basalis : Cueulus basalts, Horsfield : C. chaldtes, Tem. : C.
malayanus, Raflies. This seems exactly to resemble the last, except in
its constantly smaller size; and it is equally variable. Wing three
inches and a half to three and three-quarters. It holds the same rela-
tionship to the Indian species, which C. lugvhfis, Horsfield, does to C.
dicruroides, Hodgson, and C. flavus does to C. tenuirostris. The specie
men described in XII, 944, was not, I believe, from Macao (as I was
informed), but from Malacca. Specimens corresponding to the adult
male of Chr, smaragdinus, have not hitherto fallen under my observation.
Chr. lucidus (?), Gm. ; C. metallicua, Vig. This is the Australian
species, corresponding in size to the first, but having constantly, so far
as I have seen, a black bill, the under- parts much more distantly banded,
and presenting various other distinctions.
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55
Note on the Geological features of Ziliah Behar, By Lieut, W. S.
Shkrwill, B.N. I., Revenue Surveyor,
The geological feature* of ziliah B^ar may be dirided ioto four great
diviaons, viz. — the granitic, the qnartzose, the homstone, and the sand-
stone. Commencing from the eastern boundary of the ziliah, where it
alnits upon ziliah Mongfayr, the hills are in general composed of confused
masses of fatty quartz abounding wi^ mica, which is generally found
adhering to the quartz. In many places fine veins of mica are worked
and the produce exported to Patna. The principal mines are to the
south of Rujowlee, both in the granite and quartz ranges. The country
at the foot of these hills is thickly strewn with minute particles of silvery
mica, brought down from the hills by the rains, and entering largely
• into the composition of the soil : much of it is collected by the natives
and used for whitewashing their houses, ornamenting pottery, toys, &c.,
giving to the artidea thus smeared, a lively sparkling appearance and an
unctuous fed ; the roads and beds of Nullahs sparkle in every direction
from the abundance of this mineral. Immediately on the boundary of
ziUah Mongbyr the granite peak named Kawa Kho rises, from out of
the quartz hills, to the height of 1,165 feet ; another small patch of gra-
nite also appears about five miles to the S. W. from the peak. The quartz
hiUs are covered to their summit* with forest trees, brushwood and
bajoaboos, but as they advance to the westward and become granite,
they rise into bold and lofty peaks» some upwards of a thousand feet in
hei^t.
After leaving Rnjowlsee, the granite of these hills is found of- every
hue and texture that it is possiUe granite can possess or be composed of.
In some places porphyritio granite is found, the individaal component
parts of which are enormous ; in others eurite, where the individual com-
ponent parts are undistinguishable from their minuteness, and in other
I^acea syenite is found. Also occasional masses of ponderous black mica
are found scattered about in company with large masses of the gassy
and fatty quartz so common to granite formations.
At the spot where the Calcutta Trunk Road crosses these hills, large
blocks of gneiss are seen protruding from the fine black soil, and in
moat of the ravines and deep water-courses the same mineral is found.
In the bed of the Mohunneh river, to tiie west of the Dunghye Ghat,
on the old Calcutta Road, and where it issues from the hills, the water
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56 Geological features of Zillah Behar. [No. 169.
has laid bare a beautiful bed of gneiss several miles in extent, cross-
ing the Behar boundary and entering zillah Ramgurh : but from the
great depth of soil and from the dense forest on the banks of the
river, I was unable to trace how far it extends east and west. In the
Dunghye Pass, gneiss of peculiar beauty is scattered about in every
direction. The summit of this pass at the village of Tillee Tand I found
to be 1,300 feet above the level of the sea : it is covered with thick
forests, haunted by tigers, who destroyed some men of my establish-
ment wlulst engaged surveying these hills. A spur of this granitic range
strikes off from the main body and suddenly terminates in the bold
mountain, known as the " Muhair hill," (vide map and vignette.) The
volcanic range of hornstone hills appear at this spot to overlay the granite,
which again appears on the other side of the hornstone, distant about
eight miles. This granite extends westward to ten miles beyond the
Koel river, or 120 miles from the mica mines at Rujowlee, varying in
height from a hundred to a thousand feet : some of the peaks are bold
and imposing, but much of this range is composed of alow, undulating and
broken plateau of table land, especially the great mass which forms a
spur from the Vindhya mountains and lies in pergunnah Sherghotty.
This irregular mass, averaging from five to eight miles in width, is com-
posed of coarse granite, covered with a dense jungle of underwood, in-
termixed with forest trees, affording an inexhaustible supply of the
coarser wood, for building, manufacture of ploughs, yokes, sugar mills,
&c. besides yielding a plentiful supply of bamboos, grass, a variety of
medicinal herbs, barks, roots, leaves and fruits which are collected at
various seasons, and used in the zillah or exported. The wild silk (tusser) ,
is also collected from the Asun trees (Terminalia alata tomentosa) and
exported. The principal tree is the Saloogunje or Sal^, a tall hand-
some tree, with a smooth shining white bark, high clear stem, wide
spreading branches, and of a highly resinous nature, and from which
a gum or resin is collected and used as a varnish chiefly by the Palan-
quin makers. This tree answers to the description of the North- African
frankincense tree. The dhak tree, byre, kheir, mimosa and semul, are
the most common trees in these woods.
The Samba stag (Rusa), spotted axis, neelghaee, tigers, leopards,
and a variety of smaller animals inhabit the depth of these woods.
At Deoree, a series of low hills are detached from the body of the table
land, and are much impregnated with veins of serpentine. Near the
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1^46.] Geological features of ZiUah Behar. 57
village a meagre bed of this mineral has been quarried for a few years
by natives, who manufacture cups, knife-handles, &c., from the best speci-
mens. Captain Richard Ousdey, Principal Assistant to the Qovemor
General's Agent S.W. Frontier, had a shaft sunk, or rather a huge pit
opened, in the hopes of reaching a good bed, but without success ; at
the depth of thirty feet only a coarse friaUe granite was fpund ; nor did
I perceive in the sides of the pit any traces by which hopes could be
upheld of ever finding any at that spot. Perseverance may perchance
yet discouver a valuable bed of this huidsome mineral. Several slabs,
three feet in length, were obtained by the Honourable E. Drummond,
Magistrate of Gya, but being from the surface and much decayed, were
good for nothing, although very handsome both in colour and texture.
To the north of this great plateau, numerous little granite hillocks are
dotted over the plain, extending for twenty-five miles north, amongst
which is the large Chirchanwan hiU, five miles in length, but to the
N.E. they extend for forty miles as far as the Burabur hiUs, a range of
black sterile granite rocks, in which are some very curious groups,
peculiar to the granitic formation ; particularly that of Kawa Dhole, a
coiucal peak, rising to 365 feet in height, on the summit of which
rests a conical block of granite of immense proportions. It is upwards of
forty feet in he^ht, standing on its base, without flaw or crack, a land-
mart for miles around.
On the summit of this group, iron ore of a rich quality is scat-
tered about in profusion. This is the most northern point to which*
granite can be traced in Zillah Behar.
Returning to the west, a group of very curiously formed peaks are
clustered togedier, six miles south of Kootoombeh. One in particular
from its appearance is styled the Kothila (vide Map and Vignette) or
granary. In these hills is found, in small quantities, the sulphate of
alumina adhering to some of the rocks; it is styled silajeet by the natives.
The granite range after crossing the Koel Nuddee suddenly ceases in
numerous small hiUodcs, and^is here joined by the sandstone, an offset
from the Kymoor sand and limestone range. Eighteen miles furtiier
up the Sone river, the granite again appears in one or two hillocks
piercing the sandstone. After crossing the Ko^ river from the east the
country undergoes a complete change. The Tar tree (palm) becomes
scarce and eventually ceases altogether, the surface of the country be-
I
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58 Geological features of Zillah Behar. [No. 169.
comes covered with the Mimosa catechu, a few ebony trees and an
abundance of saloogunje trees. The hills are clothed with the fragrant
rhousa grass, from which a powerful spirit is extracted, so beneficial in
rheumatism, and known in Malwa as " Grass oil." The surface of the
country is undulating, the soil tinged with bright yellow and red hues,
the effects of the oxide of iron, which ore is found in its soil. The hills
are low towards the north, and higher to the south; exceedingly steep
to the south, and sloping away gradually to the north. The long range of
hills skirting the Sone river, are so steep to the south that a stone may
be jerked from the summit to the base, but on the north the termination
of their base is a mile removed from the plumb-line of their crest. Ten
or fifteen miles south of the Sone river, on the table land of Oontaree,
iron ore is collected and smelted by the Aghurreeas. Immediately under
the ruined fort of Srinugger, the waters of the Sone have denuded a
series of nearly vertical strata of homstone, arranged in narrow serpen-
tine ribbons ; this homstone again appears about half a mile down the
river, at Darehdeh, and has the appearance of having been fused, being
of a dark pitchy hue, smooth, rounded, sonorous when struck, difficult
of fracture, and heavy. A belt of the same rock appears in the bed of
the Sone jutting out from the Shahabad or north side, about two mUes
above Darehdeh: the rock at this spot has exactly the same burnt
appearance. Embedded in this homstone are found masses of a hard
daystone of a bright red colour, also common amongst the pebbles of
«the river, which pebbles generally consist of rounded pieces of agate,
homstone or quartz, possessing but little beauty or variety. The rocks
at this spot, projecting more than half-way across the stream of the
Sone, create rapids of about six feet fall in a quarter of a mile. At a
village named Phoolwurreea, about four miles inland from the Sone,
there is a spring of good water. At this spot a fair is held during the
months of Kartik and Chait, At a spot (marked S.) in the sandstone a
small quantity of alum is manufactured from alum slate, but by what
process, I could not learn. Specimens of the slate were sent marked 359.
The natives call this sulphate of alumina, silajeei : it is the same sub-
stance as that brought from Nepal, and sold under the same name at
the enormous price of one rapee the tola. The sandstone, on the eastern
and western banks of the Koel river, is similar to that in which are
situated the Rajhurrah coal mines, eighteen miles from the Behar
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1846.] Geological features of Zillah Behar. 59
boundary, and is of various textures, some exceedingly hatd, others very
soft.
The stone from the Khyra peak, which rises to 1:,086 feet, is much
used for hand-mills, curry- stones, and for other domestic purposes. The
whole of this sandstone is covered with a thin covering of forest trees,
underwood, and bamboos; the Saloogunge tree predominating every
where. The valleys are filled with the Mimosa catechu, many hundreds
of which trees are yearly destroyed in the manufacture of the catechu.
The next group is that of the homstone, or Rajgheer range of hills,
which although slightly mixed with quartz and jasper, must nevertheless
be considered as a homstone range. The homstone is of both kinds,
conchoidal and woody : the former is found of endless varieties, bright-
red, purple-blue and other lively colours, uniting to render this an elegant
stone : the latter is universally of a greyish-green colour. This double
range of hills presents a series of ragged peaks, offering views of great
beauty : their extent is about forty miles from S. W. to N.E. A small hill,
evidently a portion of the range appears at Behar ; another small hill,
about eighteen miles due east of Gireenk, and another again twelve miles
to the south, uniting with the quartz range and granite peak of Kawa Kho.
in this range are numerous hot and cold springs, especially at Rajgheer,
where there are nineteen hot wells and four cold : on the southern face
of the hiUs, th^e are a few hot springs similar in character to those of
Rajgheer. Half way between the Rajgheer and Burabar hills is situated
a collection of hillocks, from which is quarried hornblend of a beautiful
texture ; the crystals are large and glossy : also a quantity of potstone,
which is much used at G^a by the natives in the manufacture of dishes,
plates, mortars and pestles, likewise by the image cutters, who are fa-
mous for the elegance of their carvings. A small quantity of potstone,
but of an inferior quality, is quarried from the Bmhmjoonee hill, over-
hanging the city of Gya. A small hill, west of the station of Gya, yields
an indurated reddle used for dyeing clothes of an orange colour, also for
metalling the roads in the station ; this mineral is either of an orange,
purple, light-red or yellow colour.
These few notes, combined with the accurate and minute details by
Dr. Buchanan, will I hope, render the accompanying Map intelligible.
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60
A Note on some Hill Tribes on the Kuladyne River ; — Arracan. By Lieut.
T. Lattkr (67 Ih N. IJ, of the Arracan Local Battalion,
<l>ocT^ yap vnip aypiav vSav, ava T*avTpo Kai nerpag.
There are few facts more remarkable in India, than the vast number
of tribes which occupy its mountain fastnesses, and which roam through
its interminable forests ; all speaking distinct dialects. In many in-
stances such tribes are, as far as distance is concerned, near, neighbours ;
though in reality almost perfect strangers ; a state of alienation, in a great
measure arising from the dense and impervious vegetation, always occu-
pying the lower mountainous ranges of this country. And in no part
perhaps is this peculiarity more strikingly exemplified than in the
Yooma range of hills, which separate the province of Arracan from the
Empire of Burmah. On the banks of the Kuladyne river, which runs
down the 93^ parallel of longitude, and within a space over which a
bird might speed in a summer's day, may be found the following clans —
the KhunUs, the Mrus (of which there are two tribes, speaking distinct
dialects), the Anoos, the Kyaus, the Kh6n$, the Shentoos, and finally
the Khyoungthas. Although the languages of all these may have
originated from the same stock, yet there is quite as much difference
between them as between French and English. The most powerful
among them are the Shentoos, who being beyond our frontier, are known
to us only by their devastations on those tribes which pay us tribute ;
the suddenness, secrecy, and nev6r- failing nature of these attacks, cause
them to be held, by the rest, in a dread of which it would be impossible
to give an idea. The Khdns, who are likewise beyond our frontier, are
employed by the Shentoos as guides and spies, and are on that account
obnoxious to the vengeance of those clans, who may owe a blood feud
to the Shentoos. They reside during the night in. huts built on high
trees, and return with the day to their regular habitations below. The
remaining tribes are all more or less under our rule, aud have conse-
quently given up their feuds. With the exception of the Khyoungthas
or " Sons of the Stream," all the rest of the tribes, above enumerated,
go under the general term of Toungthas, or " Sons of the Hill." I shall
proceed to give a slight sketch in the following order of the Khyaung-
thas, the Khumis, and the Kyaus, which three clans fell under my
observation during a short trip up the Kuladyne.
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1846.] A Note on some Hill Tribes, ^c. €1
KHYOUNGTHAS.
The Kkyoungtkas are only found on the banks of the Kuladyne river,
and their livelihood is principally gained from plantations on its banks.
They may be viewed as the type of the Arracan race ; they speak the
Burmese language, but with all the harsh provincialisms of the Arra*
canese. There are many terms in the Arracanese dialect totally distinct
from Burmese : as'^Aoy, " little, small ;" ara, ** more ;" Mkdn, " thing," and
many others, just in the same way as words are foun^ peculiar to certain
counties in England. The Kkyoitrngthas appear to have been a portion
of the original inhabitants of Arracan, driven up the river at the time of
the invasion and occupation of the province by the Burmese. Their
religion is a simple type of Boodhism, but mixed up strangely with the
Ndt or " spirit" worship of the hills ; which appears in some instances
almost to have absorbed their original faith. Their parent stream is
looked upon with a holy love, not only as aflfording them sustenance, but
likewise a ready passage by which to flee from the attacks of their foes.
At the northern outskirts of each village from which quarter alone they
dread the advent of any danger (all to the south being in possession of
the English), in the direction of the forest, and under the shade of the
comeliest tree may be seen the shrine of their two NdtSt the one male*
the other female. They are represented by two pebbles picked from the
banks of the river. The female is considered the most powerful, and is
meant to represent the Mayoo Ndt, or spirit which presides over the
mouth of the Mayoo river : she is believed to be a most powerful spirit,
the guardian of Arracan from all the dangers from the sea. The road
from Akyab to Chittagong crosses the mouth of the Mayoo river ; here
all natives, whatever may be their faith, invariably, make their offering
to this powerful spirit by letting loose fowls, &c. The other or male
siHrit is styled RwdUamg Ndt or *' the village guardian," to whom,
as his name implies, is intrusted the care of the village. They believe,
to use their identical words, that ** should he withdraw his favour,
the evil eye would glare upon their children; sickness would de-
vastate their hearths; the floods would^ sweep away the foundations
of their homes ; and their most favourite haunts would become the
prowl of the tiger, and wild cat o'mount." Whenever a new shrine
is to be erected, fresh stones are chosen, the village is tabooed for
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62 A Note on some Hill Tribes [No. 169.
seven days, sientinels are placed on all the surrounding heights to
prevent the ingress or egress of any person, and sacrifices of fowls,
and pigs are made. Around each stone is wound some cotton thread,
coloured yellow with turmeric* These objects however are still further
curious, for it wiH be perceived by inspecting the plate that they are
rough representations of the lingum, and yont The colouring with
turmeric is Boodhistic, for yellow is the sacred and royal colour of
Boodhism. In the simpler types of Boodlusm which have come under
my observation, whenever the worship of the powers of nature has been
introduced, it has been invariably that of the united male and female ;
of wluch the latter has been the most powerful. This is the true ex-
planation of those monuments which abound in the Cossyah hills,
figured in a very interesting paper from the pen of Lieut. Yule, in a
volume of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta. Another inter-
esting fact illustrated by these objects, is the invariable predilection of
the human mind to identify the object of its worship with the realities
of its every- day life. This circumstance might be exemplified by
instances throughout the whole history of man; whether we take the
objects of worship themselves, as that god, " downwards fish, and
upwards man,*' worshipped in the fish coasts of Azotus ; or their conse-
crated residences from the dark cave temples ^f the Troglodyte, to the
spired fanes of the dweller in tents. And, as we shall see, whilst the
Toungtha, or " Son of the Hill," looks for sustenance to the clearings
of the forest patch, or the scant verdure -of his rock-bound hills, and
conformably represents the idea of his adoration ; so here we find the
" Child of the Stream" fitly choosing from the rolled pebbles of his
parent flood a simple fetich, wherewith to identify the object of his
worship, and his love.
THE KHUMIS.
The KhUmis, as I have already remarked, are a member of the general
family of the Toungthas, or '* Sons of the Hill." They are a numer-
ous tribe, having several villages, each under a distinct Toungmeng,
or " mountain chief." This authority appears originally to have been
* These stones are represented two-thirds their real size in Plate I, fig. a being the
female, and fig. h the male. They are shewn erect for the sake of giving their forms;
they are in reality however placed lying down in a flat position ; each having a sort of
baby house erected to receive it; they are in the Plate shewn in their relative positions
with one another.
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1846.] on the Kuladyne River: — Arracan, 63
hereditary ; whilst in those villages within the British territory, it heing
necessary that the village chief should be acquainted with the Burmese
language for the purpose of transacting Government business, an indi«
vidual on account of such qualification is often raised to that dignity ;
and thus in some viUages there ezist two Toungmengs, the one hereditary,
the other elected. The religious system of the Khtimd appears to be
very vague ; it consists of the worship of numerous Ndts, gt spirits, and
indeed of every thing that strikes their fancy. They worship the earth
as the author and giver of all they possess ; the sun also, in its noon-
day height, as the pledge of safety from their foes — ^for the attacks of
these mountain tribes are never made except during the night; no
single night passes over their head that is not replete with terror. They
reverence also the spirits of the dead ; these, they say, at times flit over
their ancient haunts, at others wing their way like birds over mountain
and vale. The spirits of the good they think ever happy, those of the
wicked miserable. Each house likewise has suspended from its walls the
skulls of the animals it may have killed for food ; to these likewise they
pay a simple adoration, by placing before each individual a handful of its
wonted food, as an acknowledgement of the sustenance it h&s afforded
them in its time. The skulls also of the animals slaughtered by their
fathers are in like manner preserved as much in remembrance of those
deceased relatives as a monument of their wealth ; frequently will a
chief point to them with pride, and tell you how many mountain
bulls his father could spear for a marriage feast. Their religion may be
said to consist of nothing but the worship of spirits ; to every object that
strikes their fancy, they accord a spirit of its own. Each peak in their
native hills, they hold to be the mountain watch-tower of a god. No-
thing could illustrate this better than the accompanying translation of
part of a KkdmW prayer. Previous to an undertaking or expedition he
lets loose a fowl as an offering to the spirits, and utters the following :
" Oh ! spirit of the day-sun ; Oh ! spirit of the rock*ledged gate* ; Oh !
* These are two very singular wall-like' ridges of sandstone, running across the
Knladyne, about twe;nty miles the one above the other. They are not rocks like those
of Colgong on the Ganges ; but ridges perpendicular on each side, and only a few feel
in width ; the river has forced itself a passage through the centre* The tradition is that
when the spirits found their domains invaded by a new faith from the plains, they en-
deavoured to raise a barrier; this was forced : a second attempt in like manner failed,
and in despair they have given up the idea of a third.
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64 A Note on some Hill Tribes [No. 169.
spirit of the streams of the Hoosalong* ; Oh ! spirit of the surges of
the Kolakf ; Oh ! lords of the mountain peaks:t ; One, two, three,
four, five, six, seven, eight times ; take ye this my offering."
Every object which is in motion they conceive to be so, in virtue of
a spirit, and a motion of its own : in fact to be animate. This is a
belief which has been shared by all primitive and savage tribes ; and
is one that will at once appear to be most natural. The simple savage,
judging from the movements of his own person, gives a spirit and a will,
as inherently the cause of movement in all things. It is the predi-
lection of the modern mind to count all as phoenomena ; the cold results
of causal agencies beyond. And when in this its last stage the mind
carries itself back to the first ; when it spiritualizes the dull realities of
this every- day world ; and writes down every sensuous object in nature
as impelled by a spirit and motion like its own ; then, having achieved
a communion with all existing things, it becomes seized of the highest
poetry, and purest ideality. This is the simple reason why the poetry of a
rude age is to us, as rich in its ideality as is that of the most polished
epoch. In this respect the human mind may be conveniently classed into
three stages — The 1st and savage, where it believes all objects whatever to
hav« life and spirit. The 2nd, where it has so far advanced as to accord
a separate individuality to the spirit, and to hold that, like a guardian, it
presides and watches over the inanimate. And finally, the 3rd and last,
that which we have above described. Those peculiarities which are the
source of poetry in the last, are unideal, mere common place matters of
belief in the first. And even in poetry, such as that of Homer, which we
may look upon as the annals of the mind in what we have described as its
second stage, many of those wondrous figures which appear to us, the
living transcripts of mysterious portraitures traced upon the secret wall
of the chambers of the poet's imagery, may in reality be but the simple
and unimaginative record of the beliefs of his every day existence.
The Kh^mis have no religious superiors, although they pay a certain
respect to some who, profess to have converse with familiar spirits.
* The name of a stream among the Hilb.
t The original is v6m of the Kolakf the latter being the name of a stream ; vtfm,
in their dialect is a place partaking of a character of both, a waterfall and a rapid : at
the mouth of the Kolak, the river rattles its way over a shallow rapid, and being im-
peded in its coarse by a great number of ridges of rock, it has the appearance of a
huge seething chaldron.
X Here they generally enumerate the most remarkable peaks.
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1846.] on the Kuladyne Rwer:^Arracan. 63
When a man marries, ,he gives what he can to the parents of his bride,
feasts his native village^ and the ceremony is concluded. The dress of
the KhiM female, in common With that of the Twrngthas, is a parody on
five's apron } the men have a small doth over the loins but iite leitill next
to naked ; the women wear a petticoat about a cubit in length, which is
kept on in a most indescribable manner by heaVy strings of brass rings.
They have a ^gular tradition accouating for the scantiness of their
costume. In fortner ages* say they, idl the world was of one tongue,
and of one kind ; there was then a god upon the earth— ^his name they
do not know, — when he was about to depart from among men, he
divided them into nations and tongues, and gave to each the peculiar
costume by which it was to be distinguished^ The poor Ta/ungthai,
however, were at the time wandering over their native mountains, and
engiAgckl in their pkntations in the hills, so that they came last. The god
tdd them he had given away all that ha had, except one small piece of
elotb, a cubit broad, which their wometi were to wear ; the men to shift
as tfaey cduld. The only risible objects of worship of the KMmCg, are the
trunks of three or four trees, which have been cut down in clearing a
spa6e for th^ vUlage ; also the same number of pillar^like stones. These are
fixed in tiie earth together^ in the middle of a large shed, which is also
employed as the; place of reunion and festirity of the village.
llie ctdtitation of the TomgthM is styled Jhoim, A hill, the bfest
covered with vegetation, is cleared, the rubbish buTnt to fertilize it, and
the Space sown with an indigenous species called hill or red rice. As
the soil on these steep hills is necessarily scanty, and becomes more
liabk to be washed away by the periodieal rains wheA denuded of its
forest coverklg, a piece of ground rarely 3fields more than one crop; in
each successive yesr other spots are in like manner chosen, till all those
around the village are exhkisted : a move is then made to another loca-
lity, fresh habitations are erected, and the same process gone through.
These migrations occur about ev^ third year, aiid they are the means
by winch long periods of time are calculated ; thus a Twmgtha will tell
you that such and such an event occurred so matty migrations since.
In forcing one's way through the forest, one often comes suddenly on a
deserted village, which presents a peculiarly melancholy appearance ; a
dense vegetation rapidly reclaims it as a domain of ancient wood ; the very
bamboos long since decayed and old, the materials of a once merry home,
become covered with luxuriaikt creepers, and appear modkingly to vegetate
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66 A Note on some Hill Tribes [No. 169.
with a new-born life at the absence of man. Compelled thus to wear
away an errant life, and in continual dread of being massacred by their
foes, the poor Toungthas know not what comfort or secureness is : all
their valuables are secreted in some hidden cave, known only to them-
selves. Should the maiden weave for herself a choice petticoat, or the
young man fashion a favourite bow, it is forthwith taken and stowed
away : and yet, in spite of all, they are a merry and laughter-loving race,
fond to a passion of beads, with which they profusely decorate every
thing that belongs to them : one little Khdm{ damsel showed me her pet
pipe so ornamented.
Having thus endeavoured to give a general sketch of the Khdmiis,
I will proceed to a few remarks on their language.
The KMmis, in common with all the Toungthas, have no written
characters. Their dialect is evidently cognate to the Burmese, that is,
the pure and original Burmese, but it presents itself under the harsh
type of the Arracanese, not softening down any of its sounds in the
usual manner of the Burmese language. It is monosyllabic, and ex-
presses the relations of its parts of speech by means of affixes ; of these
some seem to be merely euphonic, as ma, gd, v4, td, &c., these gener-
ally occur between the root and its affixes. In like manner, for the sake
of euphony, some of its roots are slightly inflected, as tchau, " to eat,"
when preceding the past affix hau, or bank, is changed into ieha. It is
moreover necessary to premise that all final consonants such as the k
in the above word bauk, are invariably mute, that is, not pronounced,
hut formed in the mouth. Indeed by a person whose ear was not ren-
dered sensible to the value of these finals by an acquaintance with the
Burmese language, of which they are a marked characteristic, the above
word bank, would be written ban. As we might expect in a rude, and
unformed tongue, the affixes, above alluded to, are omitted whenever
the sense can be conveyed without them; as A:at, 1st pers. pron.and
p^, " give/' form hat ph ** give me," or it might equally convey
" I give ;" kai, " as above." and yn, " wife," kai yu, " my wife ;" bok
" food," and tekau, " eat," bok tchau, " eat food."
NOUNS.
Mail signifies "in;" as ummau, " in the house." Hlogd, "under;"
as trm hloyd, " under the house." . Hi loungd, "on the top of;" tm At
lovngd, " on the top of the house," Ted, "near ;" as um t46, " near the
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1846.] on ike Kuladyne River : — Arracan. 67
house." Bdd, •* from ;" as urn hd/6, " from the house." Br&n, " outside ;"
as urn bran, " outside the house." W6, " by or by means of." The final
d, in all these, implies " to, towards," which sometimes for the sake of
euphony, is pronounced w$.
Tehee is the affix of the plural number with nouns, but it is not made
use of when numerals are employed, they being sufficient to express
plurality ; as urn, " a house," and mi, " two ;" urn nu, ** two houses."
Like the Burmese, the KhumCe have only one affix to express the
female, whilst several affixes express the male of animals.
TchCdu is a male affix for human beings. Tchd is a female affix for
human beings. Nil is the general female affix. Pok is a male aflbc ; as
tcMpoh " a son ;" tchi nu, " a daughter."
P'ting, is a male affix for large animals ; as tchie pUing, '* a bull ;" tch(e
nu, "a cow." Painoh p'ting, "a male buffido;" painoh nu, "a female
ditto." Kounggnau p'ting, "a stallion;" kounggnau nu, <<a mare." K'sai
p'ting, " a nude elephant ;" k'sai nu, *' a female elephant."
Lok is a male affix for smaller animals ; as uS loh, " a dog ;" ui nu,
*' a bitch." Miyaung loh, " a male cat ;" miyaung nu, " a female cat"
A'lik loh, '* a male hog ;" <fuA; nd " a female hog."
Luhi is a male affix for birds ; as da luhi, ** a cock ;** da nu, "a hen."
Tawo luhi, '* a male bird ;" tawo nu, "a female bird."
Hdi is a superlative affix ; as houi hdi, *' very beautiful."
VERBS.
The relations of verbs ar^ expressed by affixes.
Au is the substantive verb ; as kai au, " I am."
The present tense has properly no affixes ; as y^, " to fear ;" kai y4, " I
fear."
The future tense and present tense are often used synonymously.
There is an affix ^dn, implying present time, used with some roots
signifying " quality ;" as khumdi tdn, ** is cold," roch tan, " is dear ;" but
it is very irregular in its application.
The future is formed by the addition of the affix ndk, which, when the
roots end with a mute consonant, often has the euphonic vocal gd in-
tervening ; kai tdi ndk, " I speak, or will speak ;" kai tchik gd ndk, '* I
go, or will go."
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as A ^ote on same Hill TribeM [Na. 169.
The past tense is e^presBed by the affile h9,uk; as hai (eUk bauk, '* I
have gone."
The imperative is expressed by the simple root, and is distinguished
from the present tense by having no nominative <?ase,
Mdn, or matoi, are interrogative particles.
With reference to the negation of sentences, there appear to be vari-
ous negative particles. E is used to negative the substantive verb t
as kai b'au, f' I am not." Mok, mauk, auk, au, fmdn, are all variously
used as particles of negation, the first two are prohibitive.
They do not appear to have an affile of number for verbs ; the upun
which is the nominative being sufficient to shew the time of the verb ;
as kai tch^k gd ndk, " I go, or will go ;" kai tcMe tch^k §d fi4i« " we
go, or will go."
In the formation of septences, the nominfttive pomes first, the objectiye
next, and the verb last. There are however som^ eases in which this
order appears varied.
NUMBERS.
We now come to the mode of numeration, and ia this dialect it pre-
sents some interesting peculiarities. The numeral system of the KkikiUs
is emphatically decimal ; of the ten fingers. It is moreover so intricate
as to be somewhat difficult of explanation. This fact admits us into
a very peculiar phase of " savagery." We are apt to consider the mode
of reasoning and every thing appertaining to an uncivilized race, as
necessarily bearing the impress of simplicity : and this may be said to be
generally the case, but at times the savage mind seems to take to itself
flights of intricate and almost obfuscated reasoning.
The first peculiarity which we shall notice is, that the decades, or
multiples of ten, up to himdreds have two names ; thus as they count
on their fingers when they get to ** twenty," they call it first horS lath
hor^, which means literally " ten and ten," and then throiHng their fin-
gers on an imaginary heap they exclaim ap4n§f ri, " a score," and 8Q
on. R^ is an affix used with numbers, and implies ^ * full."
The next circumstance to be noticed is, the number of diffisrent
terms used to convey the idea of ** and, more."
1 , hndk, 2, nu, (u, like the simple French uj. 3, fkeoH, 4, p*in. 5, pdn§.
6, fru. 7, «Vti. 8, t^a. 9, t'khau. 10, ho, or hor^. 11, har4 Ukik hndk.
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1846.] on the Kuladyne River : — Jrracan. 69
{km here laik implies "aDd, more"). 19. horilaih t'kh^u, 20, Korihik
M, or ap(kg r(f, H, Qpdng p'hai hndk» (bere p'hai commences to con-
vey " and, more"). 29, tipdng p'hai fkhau, 30, (ipdng p'hai hor^» pr p'haird,
31, p*hair^ ph hndh, (here p*lu conveys " and, more"). 34. p'haird p'lu
p'lu. 39, p'h^ir^ plu t'khau. 40, p'haird p'fu hori^ or t9i>7ti r/. 41, tp|
p'In j»^ m in^t (here |»4fi^ mo represents *' i^nd, more"). 44, toip'/n
p<lii9 sa j»7ti. 45, v>% p*iu pdng no pdag. 50, wl p7tf ^^^nf na Aonf, or wl
|K^ r^r 5 1, tol piling fr¥ hniik, (bere ^'rv expresses ** and, more"). 55, wi
pdng t'ru pdng. 56, wi pdng fru Vru. 60* wi pimg fru hor4, or w% fru ri.
61, vt /'rtf s*ru hndk, (here a'rtf expresses " fmd» more"). 6^, wi fru t*ru
I'rs, 67, wifru a'ni 9'n$. 70, ipf i'rw 9*ru hard, or wf a'n« ri, l\,wi M*ru
i^a hn(Ui, (here t^9 represents " and, more"). 77, wi M*ru tdya s'ru.
7$, tpt 9'Hk tdga tiga. BO, wi $*ru tdga hori, at witdgard. 81, wi tdga fkhau
h94k, (here fkhau conveys ** and. more"). $8. wi idga fkhau tdga. 69,
vt tiga fkhtm fkhoH, 90, ^( t4ga fkhau hard, or w( fkhau rd. 91, ter/
thhw ho hnak, (here hq expresses '' and, more"). 99, wi fhhau ho fkhau,
100, wi fkhau ho hard, or tchoon wairdn 101, UhQon waird aiklddk hndk,
(here oikhlok signifies ''and"). 110, ichoon waird aikhldk hard, 120,
tchoon waird aikhldk apdngrd. 200, tchoon wai nurd, 202, tchoon wai nurd
aikkldk nu, 303, tchoon wai fhoon rd aikhldk fhoon, 1000, tchdngrd,
aOOO. tehdngnurd,
1845 would be thus writteun-lcMnpr^ aiktidk tchoon wai tdga rd
mkUdk vd p'lu rd pUng no piing.
It will be remarked in the above, that not only for 3 1 do they
ny *f thirty and one," or ^' thirty more one ;" and for 45 '* forty and
five,'' or " forty more five ;" but that moreover they have several differ-
ent terms to express this increment '* and, more." We will reoapitu*
late them. Between 10 and 20, the term is laik; between 20 and
30, it is p'hai, which it will be seen is likewise the term for " thirty ;"
and from " thirty" upwards each decade has the unit next above its
own to represent the increment " and, more." Thus the third decade,
^t of '< thirties," has " four }" and for " thirty more one," they say
"thirty four one," &o. The fourth decade, or " forties," has '* five,"
wd for " forty ware five," they say ** forty five five ;" and so on with the
rest. Above a hundred, aikhldk represents the same term.
it would not be easy to give a reason for this peculiarity, unless
P^hsps that the true ** more" of a number is the one immediately
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70 A Note on some Hill Tribes [No. 169.
above it ; and that therefore the " more'* of the third decade is aptly
"four," and so on. It will be remarked, that from 40 to 90, the
term vd represents " ten ;" thus wi, " ten,** and p'ln, " four," make
w{ p'lu "forty." It will be moreover perceived, that between 40
and 50, the term pangno, is used instead of pang. It is probable that the
first is the correct term, and that the latter is merely an abbreviation.
The name t'hoon, " three," is the same as in the Burmese language,
only that in the latter it is pronounced softly thoon. The term pang or
pangno, ** five," is evidently derived from the same root pdgnya, " wis-
dom," as is the Pali term p^gntsa, '* five.'*
A peculiarity which so remarkably characterizes the Indo-Chinese
languages does not exist in this dialect ; and that is, that there are no
numeral generic affixes ; thus um, " a house," and na " two." are suffi-
cient to express " two houses." In the case however of human beings
there is a kind of adjunct used either with or without numerals ; as
khum{, " a man ;** khtimi laangnu, " two men ;*' tchipau, " a child ;"
tchipau laung t'hoon " three children."
THE KYAUS.
There is only one village of this tribe in existence ; it is situated on
the banks of the Kuladyne, and in the midst of the large dan of the
Khiimis. The Kgaus relate that their tribe was originally numerous,
but that now this single village is all that has been spared from the
attacks of the Shentoos and other powerful neighbours. The Kgaus
are viewed by the rest of the Toangthas, with a kind of estrangement ;
few among these latter being able to master their dialects. The first
thing that strikes one on entering the village of the Kgaus is their
marked difference in physiognomy from that of all the other hill
tribes. Indeed the general physiognomy of the Toungtka is a Tar«
tar-like family face, but the Kgaus in feature, dress, and appear-
ance could scarcely be distinguished from the lower class of the
Bengali peasantry of Chittagong. The Khdmis are fair, with small
features : the Kgaus are dark, with large features. The Khumia
invariably wear a cotton head-dress, and their hair tied upon the crown,
and shave no portion of their head : the Kyaus on the other hand
shave a few inches of hair from the forehead, tie it low down on the
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1846.] on the Kuladyne River : — Arracan. 71
neck, and wear no head-dress. On first seeing them I felt convinced
that I had fallen in with the original type ; the etymon, as it were, of the
Bengali. Though repeatedly asked whether they had any tradition
of having come from Chittagong, they invariably replied they had none.
On this however much stress could not be laid, as from the wandering
and miserable life they lead, no tradition could well extend among them
above a couple of hundred years. I consequently turned to their Ian*
guage, and found it presenting the marked characteristics of the dialects
of Trans- Gangetic India, being monosyllabic, and having affixes to express
the various relations of its parts of speech, and even not possessing the
euphonic inflexions which sometimes occur in the Khumi, If the Kyaua
are an archaic type of the Bengali, as their extraordinary physiognomi-
cal similarity and their marked estrangement from the tribes around
renders to my mind most probable, it goes far to prove that the original
dialect of Bengal was monosyllabic and consequently rude ; and that its
nature and structure has been entirely revolutionized by the polished
polysyllabic languages of Hindoostan. The Kyaus' ideas of worship
are very rude and simple like that of the rest of the hill tribes. They
erect upright stones in different portions of their village, which they
consecrate to the Ndis, or spirits of the hills.
With reference to the dialect of the Kyaus, not having had the same
time at my disposal, or the same means of making enquiries into it, as
I had for that of the Khumis, my remarks are necessarily more scanty.
The Kyaus dialect, as has been already remarked, is monosyllabic, and
possesses affixes.
Ka is the nominative affix, chiefly used with a noun, in construction
with a verb in the present tense ; in which case the verb dispenses with
its own affix of time. This idiom is singular, as it shows that the time
of the nominative case, and that of the present tense are the same.
Tk*ti, or fk'tau are future and present affixes. The two finals id and
tau, I suspect to be nothing more than expletive. In this dialect as well
as in that of the Khumis, the future and present tenses are the same.
Mau, affix of the interrogative mood, occurs last in a sentence after all
others. It may also be applied directly to a noun without the inter-
vention of the substantive verb, as sipa " child," and mau interrogative
from sipa mau " child ?" t. e. *• Have you any children ?" This is one of
abundant instances of how crudely ideas are expressed among a rude
people.
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72 A f^ote on some Hill Tribes [No. 169.
RtM and frAu ; impenitive termination : iis Uh4 '* to go," t$h4 t'rau,
" go." Md is a negative affix, and alwa3rs occurs after the root ;
as tsh^ fn'rau, " dont go." In this it differs frotn most dialects, the parti-
cle of negation, generally and correctly, preceding the statement of
the act which it is meant to cancel. In asking however a negative
question, the order is somewhat varied. The interrogative pronominal
occurs first, the negative next, then the personal prononn, and finally
the verb ; thus arong, " why—" ma, " not—" na, " you—" and kouitff,
** come," make aroung ma nakmrng, " Why don't you come ?" In this case
it is peculiar that the interrogative modeKafiix it not nsed* the intenroga-
tive pronommal being snftcient to mark the clause to be a question.
Ak is an auxiliary affix of negation used only with the substsmtive
verb dm, " to be," in which case the true negative md is united with it,
into one word m'ak ; m't^hdt " husband," Am " is," m'ak '* not."
len is likewise an auxiliary affix of negation, similar to the Burmese
bkoof as tshem'ien " (I) won't go."
NUMBERS.
The numeral system of the Kt/aus id not intricate like that of the
Khumis, It is decimal.
1, khdt.--^, niek.^Z, i'Aoom.— 4, m'rt.— 5. nga.-^G, dfook. — 7,
«Vetf.— 8, nfe/.— 9. iferf.— 10, tcMom.-^ll, s'mr^ khdt^\2, s"mr4niek.
— 13, s*mri /'Aodm.— 20, tcMom nteA;.— 31, tchuom niek t4 khdt.*-^
22, tchAom niek 14 ntek.-^ZQ, ich^om tchoom.-^SZ, fch4om fhoom 14
Vhoom, — 40, Vchfiom m'lL — 50, tchfiom nga, — 60, tchfiom dtaok. — 70,
/cAlJom *Vw.— 80, /<f*iiom n#rf.— -90. teh4om *<^.— 100. r'jra.—iOl. —
r'zal4 khdt.-^^QO, r'za niek.--^222, r*sta niek 14 tchuom niek 14 niek, —
1000, sankha, — 2000, sankha mVA;.— 1846, sankha 14 r'za tHet 14 tehiiom
m*lil46rook.
It is to be noticed that one very peculiar aiid characteristic idiom of
the Indo-Chinese languages, such as the Burmese. Siamese. Malay, is
entirely wanting, as far as I could make out. in thes^ two dialects above
described. I allude to numeral generic affixes. The numeral, as in
English, is placed in immediate relation with the noun, whereas in the
others it is placed in relation to a generic affix ; as where the Burmese
say " dog," two animals ; the Kya$is and Khdmis say merely '* dogs two.**
But stiU as these hill dialects are so evidently cognate to the Burmese,
it is singular if they do in reality lack so characteristic a trait ; and
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1846.] on the Kuladyne River : — Arracan, 73
therefore I cannot but suspect, that a better acquaintance with these
dialects would reveal them ; and that I was unable to make myself un-
derstood in that part of my enquiries.
Mone of the tribes to which we have referred in the above pages are
in possession of any alphabetical system. Unless indeed we except the
Khyoungikas, who being in reality pure Arracanese, have consequently
the Arracanese or Burmese characters. With reference to the remain-
der, it is as yet a matter of doubt, among those who have turned their
attention to the subject, whether, for the purposes of education, their
dialects should be adapted to the Roman, or the Burman alphabet.
With reference to the first, the only thing that can be said in its favour is,
that it will save their European instructors the trouble of learning the
Burmese alphabet. With reference to the second, a crowd of arguments
appeal in its favour. In the first place all these dialects are evidently
cognate to the Burmese language, not only so in sound, but also in
structural peculiarities ; all their finals are exactly similar to those of the
Burmese language, being required to be formed in the mouth but not
uttered ; this single peculiarity, which in Burmese is represented by a
mark called that, would require some outlandish configuration to be
conveyed in an European alphabet. Secondly, the instruction which
these people could possibly receive directly from European instructors
must be comparatively small; as with the exception of a few short
months, their mountain- fastnesses are inaccessible to an European con-
stitution ; and therefore native teachers formed in the plains, where Bur-
mese is vernacular, would necessarily become the principal instruments.
Thirdly, the Burmese language is used as the medium of communication
with the English Government, and thereforie there are,i^ways a numb^ of
persons in every viUage familiar with it. Fourthly, there are fewer sounds
foreign to the Burmese than to the English language. I remarked but
two, viz. the t; in " van" and the u in the French ** plume" " a feather ;"
these could easily be supplied by characters conformable to the general
type of those of the Burmese alphabet ; as has been done by the Ame-
rican Missionaries at Tavoy in the cade of the Karen language.
In the following list the coronna as in the word pHaung, represents
the a considered by the Burmese as inherent in every consonant, similar
in sound to the fiirst a in " papa :** the u with a dot under it represents
the tt in the French word plume, "a pen." The other accentuated
letters will expljiin themselves.
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74
A Note on some Hill Tribes
[No. 169.
English.
Burmese,
Arracanese
. KUmi.
JTyad.
Bengali,
air
\6
li
ali
khK
boi/r
hpin yra
ant
parwottshiet par6ttshiet paleng
m'rtshi
arrow
hmy^
mra
t^
t'har
tlr
bird
gnhet
gnh^
t»w6
va
th6r6i
blood
thw^
thwi
fhi
t'hi
Idh
boat
hl6ortham
-hli
p'laung
m'laung
na6n
bone
ay6 or j6
ar6
ah6k
rd
banr
buffalo
kywai
kywai
painoh
chaiaw^
m6nhis
eat
kyoung
kroung
miyaung
meng
bfl^-i
cow
nwdm&
nwdma
tchi-nti
charrap'nu
^
buU
nw4hp6
nw4b6h
tchlp'ting
charrats^
ard
crow
kye6
tchagin
6^
v-a
qaooa
Clin
day
n6
rat
ni
nlding ta
to-day
kh6n6
goni
wanni
thooruj
sun
n^
nln
k'ni
ni
to-morrow nSthpftn
hnapran
kondam
kulya
yesterday
yamSn^
khw6
yaman6
khwi
yandoo
kulya
dog
tii
{A
koonr
ear
n4
nd
kannaa
na
kan
earth
mj6
tAmln
k'l-16ng
niung
bhooin
egg
elephant
aoo
aoo
k'd<il
artdi
bauda
tsheng
tshan
k'sdi
sai
hdti
eye
mygttsie
myatsie
amik
m6-et
th6kh
father
fthp&
ahpa
ng'-a-i
pa
baba
fire
mee
meen
mai
ma-i
agdn
fish
nga
nga
ngaa
mans
flower
khy^
pan
k'tsh6n
fooU
foot
khripoa
&k6k
fh^ng
goat
tsmet
tshiet
m'^
kiear
saghul
hair
tshftn
tshan
tcham
tcham
thdl
hand
let
\kt
&kti
ktiet
hat
head
ookkhoung
oogoung
m
lii
mat*ha
hog
wfet
w&t
atik
vauk
hoorr
horn
gy6
gr6
t'kf
thing
horse
mygng
mrdn
kaunggnad
kora
gort
house
ieng
ieng
um
eeng
ghorr
iron
than
than
t'maa
tirr
l<Sar
leaf
arw6t
paroa
agndm
[- tchaung
arr-nd
phatha
k6ia ka
plaintain
nghet py-
ngha pyau
kiluen na
leaf
aurwfet
roa
gnim
phatha
ngh^t pyau
ngha pyau
k<itti
kiluen
k^l4
plaintain
nghet pyan
L ngha pyau
kdttiat^t
amra
k6ia p'hol
fruit
th65
thee
-
dawn light lenp:
Ian
ktiwang
kawata
bhor
mankind
loo
loo
khiimi
m'tshi
manoos
monkey
myouk
myouk
h'lait
j'uang
bandur
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1846.]
on .the Kuladyne River : — Arracan.
75
English.
Burmese,
Arracaneae
. Kh&mi.
Kyau.
Bengali.
moon
\a
la
mi
khya
chdn
mother
ftmie
amie
gna-au-i
noo
m&n
hill
toung
toung
mati-i
kh'ldng
phdr
mouth
khftndwSng
khr^
Tbaung
m'kWi
moonkh
musquito
khyfing
ch6ng-r4ng
tcheen-
m6nsha
tchimp
name
amee
namee
a-mdn
n rming
nlim
night
gnyee
gnyee
wdm
kuUoh
r&it
oil
tshee
tshee
atauk
tchirut
t6il
river
road
myeet
Iftm
mriet
Ian
yangp^g
tip6-e
ktmm
d6rdje4
p'h6nt
skin
ftr^
ar^
apik
ftvtin
sdm
sky
koungkeng goungkan
k'ni
mitsh^m
dthmdn
snake
myw6
mrwi
puwi
k'tshl
mrtii
h&np
star
kyay
kray
ftrshi
ttirtt
bracelet
letgouk
lag6k
k'tshi
kiroo
stone
tiger
kyouk
ky4
kyouk
kyd
16ngtchaung lung
t'kii km
shll
bikh
tooth
ftthwd
thwd
haw
hd
dint
tree
theetpgng
theetpan
dingkaung
ting
g&as
fruit
^theg
athes
atdit
p'h61
village
ywd
rwd
aw^ng
V6
p'h&ra
water
j6
ri
ttii
t6i 4
p'Mnf
yam
myoukQo
m^oukoo
ah6
U\
&Ioo
wife
m&y£
miey&
ayti
napoi
b6h
husband
I6ng
Ian
yti-w6
k'loong
m'tsh&l
khushum
white
hpyoo
hproo
ftgnoung
dhdph
black
mee
mee
p'noong
avaum
k£l&
red
nSS
nee
p'ling
k'ddp
atshen
l&U
blue
koung
gnyoo
arait
mSshyeh
bt
koung
Shaul
atsh&
^mm
tsh6
tsh6
haui-auk
tsha m&k
khrib
beautiful
hla
hla
ahaui
amenhl&
shoondur
ugly
m&hlft
mahla
akoochi
tsha mak
^mm noi
I
nga
nga
kdi
keema
&mie
thou
thSng or
than
ndn
nama-td
t'hoomi
UCllg
he and she thOO ,
thoo
ni
nengm^ta 6\
to go
to fear
thw&
la
tshek
tsh6
jfciii
kyouk
shie or hie
krouk
y^-e
tchf
d6rr ash
to be
hie
aun
km
dshie
to give
f€
pi
P^
^
d€na
to speak
pyau
prau
t6i
tchong
kh6t4
khau
to come
la or youk
larouk
youk
nee
houng
here
theehma
di^hma
t6
eenytit
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76
A Note on some Hill Tribes
[No. 169.
English, Burmese, Arraeanese. KMmi. Kyau,
year fthneet ahneet
milk n6 n6
child akhAl^ ashay
ofiBspring tha tha
male youky& youkya
(man)
female
(woman)
a boy loogftl^
miemmft miemmft
kolay shay
a girl miemmft gft- miemmft
1^ shay
khdm
^ tehok
domigdi
tehipau sip4
nomigboo m'tshi
tchiftii
noungboo n'pang
tchft
nomigboo m'tshU
tchi&d
domigdi
nomiigboo noukti
tchft domiig-
di
Bengali,
busr
dhoot
hpooa
hpooft
morod
m&iyiinla
morod
hpood
mftiyunUt
hpood
The following is a list ofKhitmi words. The English is the meaning
they have in that dialect. The Burman is the term that comes nearest
to them ; although often the Burman term does not express all the mean-
ings of the KMmi one.
Burman,
KMmi,
English,
hluot
p'th'lau
to abandon, leave, let go
shie or hie
aun
to be, remain, abide dwell in
hnding
pyiik
to be able, can
hpooftt or khy6 .
fthdp
to bathe, wash
hpooftt
t'mooi
to rub
ht&
khftt
to put, or place
sh6
mon
front
ftp&d
hiloung
above
th6
wau
to, in direction of
nouk
ningthon
behind
tshair^
angyok
to abuse, insult
pyoo or look
pan
to do, act, work
ienghtoung
p6ng
marry a husband
ienghtoung
neng
marry a wife
th6thwa
d6k
to die
sh^ng
ahing
to live
yay
pftnoo
to laugh
gno
ftw6h
to cry, weep
shdikshoo
fttfthd
to breathe, pant
^oo-yftkhoo
Wiii
now, soon
1.6 k6kway
aOi
to worship
h6h-hma
h6h
there
wa
p'16p
cotton
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1846.]
on the Kuladpne River : — Arracan.
77
Burman.
hneet thet
kya
mdgh yw^
Stoo
aaloon
tsiet tsh6
khy&.fkhyd
iet
n6
iet
htoung
wi
kh4
khwai
yoo
yoo
meeloung
thenggy6h
kbau
hpan k5ing
ahp6-nee
ahp6myd
khyam
atsiet
tsiet padie
kyet
Ueehtoo
tsootswot
tU thwii
net
thouk
thwl
pyee
thee
dayay thameng
oodoung
atoung
toungp^n
nwl poo
ya
tw6
khyoung
pyan
Khimi.
EnglUh.
ph6rd
gnaing
to love, to want
kl&
tofaU
k'ni nSIk
to rain
winr^
alike, similar
p'lunaf
tAkft or kxi
all
angnr
another
i^i
to sleep
anlau -
to wake
tch&kh6n
abag
htoung
a basket
<iw
a bamboo
&kh6
bitter
kh«
to break, snap
youhai
16h
to bring
to take
p'tau
to bum
m
to bury
hain
to call
p'too
^tien
to catch, hold, seize
cheap
rfiik
dear in price
khtimdi
cold
am^
a bead
laing
a necklace of beads
ia
a fowl
bdik
to cut, carve
tchooi
wet, damp
d'wi
to die
ht6k
deep, as water, also to drag,
to drink [pull, draw
n^-f
p'hoof
kh6i
dry .
m
kndi6k
empty
hi
this
tchoo tchook
a deer
touk d&i
a feather
&m6-i
p'khi
awing
bhi
warm
nil
to find, get, obtain
2Uw6m
to meet with, find
taw6
a stream, a bird
ankhan
to fly as a bird
to play, jest, amuse
kmSk
k'ni y'16ng
God
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78 A Note on some Hill Tribes, SfC. [No. 169.
Burman, KMmi, English,
{■
* the an- m^ f mii " fire" a musket
th6 nat I gel of pauk \ pauk "tube"
ieath"
bhayhneet ay6 r6 how many
htameng b6k dinner
The Bengali terms given' in the first part of the above are those of
the dialect of Chittagong. With reference to the KMmi and Kydu,
there are some that are interesting, as presenting instances for that pre-
dilection to onomatopseia so characteristic of archaic dialects. The first
we will notice is the term tawd, a sound which may be heard echoing
through the still forest, and emitted by many of its winged denizens.
The next oak, ond w*-d, especially the first, admirably represent
" a crow." The term Ai ** a, dog" is uttered with a strong and sudden
intonation on the first syllable ; it is a sound constantly in their mouths
employed to frighten those animals from their never-varying occupation
of pulling every thing about in search of food. It is probable also that
the Burman term khwe, had the same origin. The terms m'-e " any
thing of the goat species," and Mk " a hog," mi-yaung " a cat," are like-
wise instances of the same kind. It will be remarked, that in the KMmi
dialect the term for *' Sun" enters into composition for that of
" God ;" as also that in Burmese, KMmi, and Kyau, the term for "Sun"
conveys also the idea of ** day," in contradistinction to " night."
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JOURNAL
OP THB
ASIATIC SOCIETY.
Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool and Boorun PaiMes over the Hima^
iaya, in September, 1845. By Captain Maddbn, Bengal Artillery,
The writer of the following notes hae been induced to commit them
to paper, in the hope of their proving interesting, from the fact that
a portion of the route traversed is comparatively little known, and so far
as ^abluBhed information is concerned, is nearly new ground in botany ;
though of ornithological and entomological tours, several have appeared
from the pens of Captains Hay, Hutton, &c. Thtf tract in question is
scarcely ever quoted for plants in * Royle's Illustrations,' and the writer is
therefore induced to believe that the new habitats here given, may not be
without their use to some of the many travellers, who now annually
cross the Himalaya, from Simla to Kunawur. To those amongst them
who are novices in the mountains, he would recommend attention to the
following particulars, as tending considerably to remove the difficulties,
and enhance the pleasures of the trip.
Ist. Avoid forming a party of more than three, in consequence of the
difficulty, increasing in a geometrical ratio, of obtaining supplies and
porters for a greater number.
2nd. Ohdnge the latter daily ; one may tiius hdt at pleasure without
expense, when desirable ; the rate of payment is only three annas per
diem instead of four, as near Simla, and the difficulty, often a serious
one near the snowy range, is obviated of procuring large supplies, and
of adjusting the fair rate to be paid for them ; a frequent source of angry
No. 170. No. 86, New Series. m
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80 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
and interminable discussion. It is also advisable to secure the coolies
from fraudulent deductions by paying or seeing them paid in person.
A heavy bag of pice is useful in many villages, where the inhabitants
cannot often produce change for a rupee.
3rd. Encumber yourself with the least possible number of servants ;
but let these be able-bodied, in sound health, and warmly clothed ; their
« falling sick will cause much delay and inconvenience : and on no account
start without a small tent for their use.
4th. Let this tent (and your own) be only of such a weight that one
strong man can carry it well, even when soaked with rain; and to
effect this the better, let each of the party have his own tent.
5th. As the heat in the low vallies is very great, take some light cloth-
ing, and a copious sola- feather hat. If inclined to hepatitis, a doablj-
lined umbrella is indispensable ; and a green gauze veil or pair of gog-
gles to protect the eyes from the glare of the snow, especially in spring:
many have been temporarily blinded from this ' cause defective.' The
traveller should avoid the vallies as much as possible ; many of them are
infested by flies of which the bites are exceedingly poisonous, and when
irritated, terminate in dangerous sores. A double wax* cloth, to keep
one's bedding dry, is essential, and five times as many pairs of shoes
as you would expend at Simla in an equal period. The country-made
articles sold in the shops there, will not, particularly during wet wea-
ther, stand more than a hard day's work on the rugged paths of the
interior ; and in the end, the purchase of European shoes will be found
to economize cash, space, and skin.
6th. Let your cups, jugs, plates and dishes be of metal; with these
only may you defy fete and falls ; and as for provender to adorn them,
an ample supply of tea, sugar. Carr's biscuits, hermetically sealed soup
and bouilli, fowls, sliced bread re-baked into everlasting rusks, with a
liberal allowance of beer, wine^ and brandy, the latter precious article
insured against damage by being decanted into cura^oa or other stone
bottles. Nor lastly, must a liberal proportion of tobacco be excluded
from the category ; be assured Moli^re was not far wrong when he said
' Quoique puisse dire Aristote et toute la Philosophie, il n'y a rien
d'^gal au tabac' — at all events when jaded by a severe walk, and all other
creature-comforts out of sight. Amidst the fulness and listlessness of
Simla, one may dispense very stoically with many of these things, bat
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1846.3 ^^ Boorun Passes over the Hmtdaya. 81
after the hard exercise and keen air of the mountain tope, nature asserts
her rights, and speaks through the stomach, in tones which can he
neither mistaken nor denied. The direction of the journey being deter-
mined before-hand, much trouble and expense will be saved by the esta-
blishment of a dep6t at some convenient spot on the return route.
7th and last. Some quarter of a century since. Stalker, Welsh, and
other out-fitters used to furnish the innocent Cadet with certain pounds
of tobacco to be given to the sailors " for doing little jobs ;" such, as well
as presents of coarse powder and small shot — will be found really ser-
viceable in the Himalaya, where they are all scarce and bad. A judi-
cious exhibition of these coveted articles will often secure a cheerful
endurance of cold, wet, danger, and fatigue ; the fumes of the tobacco
stimulating the sensorium of the mountaineer, as those of loyalty and
chivalry do, or did, that of the Frenchman. It is needless to add that
the contrary method of abuse, blows, and violence, irrespective of its im-
morality in contravening the expressed will and orders of our honourable
and honoured masters, is almost sure to defeat its intention, and to lead
to the desertion of those subjected to it.
September Zrd. — ^Left Simla with Lieutenant Bourchier, of the Artil-
lery, and walked to Fagoo, distant eleven or twelve miles, in four hours
and forty minutes. The rocks at Simla are chiefly clay and mica slate,
with quaftzose sandstone towards the west, and a crystallized lime-
stone at Jutog ; the road lies along the northern face of Jaka mountain,
which is here composed of a deep-blue clay slate, and not of limestone,
as erroneously stated by Captain A. Gerard. The forest is here chiefly
formed by the Ban oak (Quercus incana) ; and in the steep precipitous
ravines to the right, grows abundantly the Deutzia Brunoniana, which
bears a considerable resemblance to the common Syringa. Quitting this,
the road gradually ascends the south or bare side of the ridge which
connects Jaka with Muhasoo : the north side is covered with a forest
of Mohroo oak (Quercus dilatata) : and at 8 or 9 miles from Simla, the
summit of Muhasoo is attained, upwards of 9.000 feet above the sea ;
the route is latterly through a fine forest of cedar, Rai (Abies Smithi-
ana), and the Kreoo or Kurshoo oak (Quercus semicarpifolia), and des-
cends to Fagoo, 700 feet below, through beautiful hanging woods of
maple, pindrow, or Jhunera pine (Picea pindrow), horse chestnut (Pavia
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82 EHary of an Excurshn to the Shatool [No. 170.
indica), below the road, and a multitude of shrubs. Viburnums, Leyces-
teria formosa, Limonia laureola, black currant, &g., under which in May
and June, the large pure white ladies' slipper (Cypripedium oomigerum)
flowers in abundance. The Putees (Aconitum heterophyllum), Gircsea
cordata, and the blue-flowering chereyata (Hatenia elliptica) are also
both common on Muhasoo and at Faguo. On the pleasant downs behind
this latter, the Plrimula denticulata, the sundew (Droaera musdpula),
WkA& ccebpitosa, and the {uretty little eye-bright (Euphrasia officinaMs),
are all common, though less so than in the intmor.
To the resident of Cawnpore or Ferozepoor, nothing can be more
delicious than the freshness of the Fagoo woods in spring. The lofty
stems of Hie pines are enyeloped by the huge ivy and Ampelopsis dimb-*
ers ; and vH the autumn, ifhea the leaves of this last turn bright red
and copper> the effect is very rich, and is said to resemble that produced
in the Nwth American woods by species of oak, maple, and sumach.
All otur oda here are evergreens. Hie Tree- Rhododendron and Andro-
meda, which cover whole mountains of the outer ranges, become rare
at Fagoo, and are seldom met with in the interior : so very limited in
width is their favourite belt. They are however abundant on the Sutlej
between Seran and Tiranda. The boiling point of water is 198^ at
Fagoo.
SepienUfer 4^.— ^Detained iot coolies ; all diose availabfe being 8e<^
cured for Prince Waldemar and suite proceeding to Simla, aiid Colmiel
FuUarton and his party bound for the Roopin Pass.
September 5th, — ^To Puralee, ten miles, in four hours ; tiie first seven
miles, as far as Synj, are for the most part a steep and uninteresting des-
cent to the Girree ; the Morina wallicfaiana, which flowers in May and
June, and the Scutellaria angustifolia are common. The glen of the
Oirree is so warm for most months of the year, that it is advisable, if
practicable, to descend in the afternoon and merely pass the night in it ;
but fishermen will run all risks, and there is said to be good fishing ten
miles lower down. Puralee is about two and a half mfles up the valley
from Synj on the same bank of the river, which, between these villages,
forces its way through a deep rocky defile on the brink of which the
road is carried for half a mile. There is a good breadth of arable
land in this part of the valley, and the climate being veiy warm,
the products are nearly those of the plains-^barley, wheat, kodab
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(Elensiiie coracana), cheena (Panicnm miliaoeam), till (Sesamum ori-
entale)» and yarioas spedes of Phaaeolus. Puralee boasts a small bungalow
of one Fooin» which is oookr than a tent, bat by no means so clean, being
infested with almost all the insect plagues of Egypt.
September 6M.«— To Kotichaee, twelve miles, which we walked in
five hours ten minutes. The road lies for three miles or so, up the
right bank of the GHrree, and then crosses by a good Sanga to the left
bank, along which it continues for the rest of the route in a constant
and rather wearisome series of ascents, descents, and sinuosities.
Kotkhaee, " the Fort of the Fosse," is a picturesque spot at the junction
of seyeral streams from the east and north, which first here give the
Girree the character of a small reach, about liie same size as the Hosilla
in Kemaon, and like it rising short of the snowy range. The thermo*
meter boils here at 202®, which gives about 6,000 feet elevation, about
500 more than is generally allowed to Kotkhaee. An exodlent bunga-
low of two rooms had just been finished by Mr. Brskine, 150 or 200
feet above the left bank of the river. Across the stream, on a precipitous
Tock at the angle formed by the Oirree, and a stream from Huttoo, is
" the palace" of the Kotgooroo chief ; it is an emblem of his own mind,
being a ruin, which only shines under the brush of the painter. Conse-
quent on the imbecility of the chief, the district has long been under
British management. A clump of cypress (Cupressus torulosa) grows
in the vicinity of the palace ; the other trees are chiefly Kail pine
(Finns exoelsa.) On the route to-day I noticed in the com fields abun-
dance of the pretty Hibiscus trionum, for which Dr. Royle goes as far
as China. A species of Vida, resembling V. cracca, is common amongst
the thickets. Considerable quantities of iron are smelted at and around
Kotkhaee, and conveyed on mules to Simla and the plains.
September 7/A.—- To Deorah or Dehrah, about twelve miles, in five and
three-quarter hours. Three miles from Kotkhaee the road crosses to the
right bank of the Girree, and tiben leaves the glen to ascend the Shnnkun
Ghatee, over the high neck jmning the Koopur mountain on Uie SB., with
Toomliroo and Huttoo on the left. The Pass is probably from 9,000 to
9,500 feet above the sea, and on the ascent occur Abies smitiiiana, Picea
pindrow, and in considerable numbers, Populus ciliata : this I find, the
natives of the plains invariably mistake for the peepul. If the word
papuhie comes from peepul, it would go to prove that the separation of
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84 ^ Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
the Latin nations from the Hindoos took place after the establishment
of the latter in India ; the peepul not being known in the high countries
to the north, whence the Hindoos are supposed to have emigrated.
Tlie converse may indee'd be true, that the northern tree is the original
peepul. On the grassy summit of the Pass, the Morina longifolia, the
Sibbaldia procumbens, &c. are in abundance. From this point the
source of the Girree may be seen to the right, at about 10,000 feet
elevation on the Koopur mountain, below which the stream penetrates
by a deep rocky and wooded chasm, a spur from Koopur which would
otherwise turn it down by Deorah to the Pabur. The locality is well
worth a visit, especially following the Ghumba range from Bulsun
and PuthemuUa. A little beyond Koopur, and connected with it by
the Puthemullah Pass of the map, is the still loftier three-peaked range
in the Tiroch territory, called Kunchooa ; the Urrukta ridge of Royle
and Fraser, an appellation apparently taken from a fort now dismantled,
and scarcely known to the present inhabitants. From the presence of
birch, silver-fir, Anagyris barbata, &c. the Kunchooa summits are pro-
bably little under 12,000 feet elevatioa ; there is a difficult route over
them from Deorah to Choupahl vid the Puthernullah Pass of the map.
The view is fine from the Shunkun Pass, including the Jumnootree
peaks to the east, the Choor, Shallee, Huttoo, Fagoo, &c. The Koopur
mountain is composed of gneiss rock, like Huttoo ; but the Shunkun
Pass is of a decomposing micaceous shale, down which the road, some
times steep and rocky, proceeds for four or five miles to Deorah, which
is seen directly beneath. Deorah, often called simply Durbar, is the resi-
dence of the Rana of Joobol. The last Chief, Poorun Chund, was drug-
ged to imbecility by his Wuzeers, in order to ensure the management
of the country remaining in their own hands ; this policy failed, as our
Government assumed and still retains the management; but the legiti-
mate claimant, an intelligent boy of eight or ten, is prondsed the restoration
of the Raj when he attains his majority. His palace is an extensive
and lofty square pile, surmounted by turrets, slated in the concave
Chinese style, not uncommon in the Himalaya ; it is picturesque and has
often furnished a subject for the tourist's sketch book ; the best view
is from the Saree road. It stands from 6,000 to 6,400 feet above the
sea, the thermometer boiling at 20 1^°, and being surrounded by high
mountains, is rather a warm spot. But the traveller has the advantage
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of a small bungalow, the last on the route to the snowy range. Here
commences the rice cultivation so general in the valley of the Pabur.
Bathoo (Amaranthus anardana), kodah, cheena, and tobacco, are also
cultivated. The country is fertile and populous ; the neighbouring
mountains, especially to the south, where a long and lofty spur from •
Koopur extends to the Pabur — are beautifully diversified with fields,
thriving villages, and pine forests, chiefly of Kail, the only species at
Deorah.
September 8/A.— To Rooroo Kothee in four and three-quarter hours,
called fourteen miles in the route book, but perhaps not above twelve.
Soon after leaving Deorah, the road enters the domain of the Ranee of
Syree, leading down over gneiss rock, along the left bank of the Beeskool
river, which rises from the Koopur mountain. Its banks are regularly
fringed with elder trees (Alnus obtusifolia) here called Koonch, the New
of Kunawur. Saree is about half-way to Rooroo, and is the lair of an
old Ranee, once famed for her beauty, and now for litigation with her
neighbours, and oppression of her people. The old lady visited Cal-
cutta about 1822, where I saw her on a tisit to the late Sir Robert
Stevenson. From near Saree, which is a poor hamlet, the Pabur river is
first seen, with the Beeskool flowing into, it, through some flat alluvial
ground by Goonsa village. Across the Pabur, on a nearly isolated hill
perhaps 500 feet above it, stands the fort or castellated mansion of
Raeengudh or Raeengurh, once a Ghoorka, then a British post, and
since ceded to the Rana of Kjoonthul in exchange for Simla. Far
above the fort, from amidst a group of minor mountains of very pic-
turesque outline, spring the richly wooded peaks of Boorhun and
Godar Deotah, to the height of nearly 9,000 feet above sea level,
a branch of the Ghangsheel — or as it is here softened, Ghaheel range.
The road descends by easy gradations to the level of the Pabur, and
crossing the Nye, Noye, Pursrar ^or Dogra, a tributary from, Thana
Keeshain, continues along or near its right bank to Rooroo, a few hun-
dred yards short of which, it crosses by a Sanga, or wooden bridge, a
icocky narrow chasm, ninety*nine feet deep, through which flows the
Shikree Nuddee. The Pabur is here a fine, strong, and perfectly clear river,
occasionally forming formidable rapids. A species of trout is abundant
in it and in the Shikree, but is said to be prevented by the snow water
from ascending more. than ten or twelve miles higher up. The cliff
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86 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
Bection of the Shikree exhibits strata of a micaceous sandstone, but
Rooroo, Ghergaon, and several other villages on the Pabur, stand on
elevated plateau of gravel and boulders, from 100 to 150 feet above
the present level of the river. These are chiefly devoted to rice culti*
. vation, for which this valley, here and upwards, known as Cbooara, is
celebrated ; the fields are abundantly, and to the traveller often incon-
veniently, irrigated by rills skilfully led along artificial cuts from the
Pabur, originating at a sufficient distance above to admit of the highest
levels being watered.
Rooroo Kothee is 5,200 feet above the sea, and is rather a hot place.
The barley ripens in the latter half of May, the wheat in the first half of
June ; the heat is then excessive. It is not a very large village, and
has a kind of square in the centre, which, were it a little cleaner, would
remind one of a substantial fann-yard in England. The Mnhnnt or
Chief Gooroo of Busehur resides here, and has large endowments in
land. Owing to the neglect of the smooth-tongued Mookheea of Deonh,
who promised everything and performed nothing, our baggage did not
arrive till sunset, so that our breakfast and dinner merged into one, at
i past 7 p. M., thirteen hours after leaving Deorah ; a place which eccmo-
mizes cash better tiian temper. During the day, a general assembly of
(the mountaineers took place under the Gooroo's auspieea, £or the purpose
of dancing round tiie gods. These, however well^gilt, appear to be
aired and ventilated but once a year, and were deposited in littens
beneath the trysting tree in the village square, round which the pec^sle
formed themselves, men and women apart, into seven equares, single
rank of eight or ten each, holding each other's hands, extended behind
their backs : then by a curious and by no means inelegant step, or set of
steps, in excellent time, they gradually completed the dreuit, the move-
ment being combined with c^hets to the front and rear, with repeated
bowings in concert to the deities ; this continued the best part of the
day to the mnsic of pipe and drum, the perfomiers being oceanom^y
relieved from the surrounding crowd, all seeming equally adefyts. Gon-
sidoraUe practice must have preceded so oneditable aa exeeutbn ctf tins
dance, and once or twice tiie gods even joined in the fun, whidi then
grew more fast and ftinoos than ever ; and from the exceeding elasticity
of the ash-poles on which tiiey were carried, " their worships" got such
a shaking as gods in the plains can never hope to enjoy.
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The mountaineers of the Himalaya, like those of Oilead, invariably
conyert the letter s into sh : so that the Shibboleth test must be revers-
ed to detect a Paharee ; they have also retamed in common use a great
natnber of Hindooee words, which are seldom heard in the plains.
Rooroo Kothee is situated about 150 feet above the right bank of the
Pabor, which, at this season is fordable here with difficulty. In com*
mon with similar valley sites in the mountains, the village is infested
with a small species of fly, which, without giving any notice, inflicts a
bite that is frequently attended with much irritation. The higher
mountains have also in the spring, their pest, in the shape of a large
gad-fly, a pitiless enemy of man and beast.
The low glen of the Pftbur, while it boasts abundance of the Rosa
brnnonis, Indigofera dosua, Hypericum cemuum, Deutzia staminea, and
other flowering shrubs, possesses few or none of the beautiful her-
baceous plants of the Alpine rocks and pastures. The Marvel of Peru
(Mirabilis jalapa) however, grows in the greatest abundance and
luxuriance about Rooroo and several other villages, as well as about Kot-
kfaaee on the Girree, and on the outer range about Barh and Kalka ;
the climate of the Himalaya between 4,000 and 7,000 feet elevation,
brings it to such perfection that in aU these places it is so completely
naturalized as to appear wild. Another American plant, the Martynia
diandra, is equally abundant near villages in the Turaee of Kemaon
towards Bhumouree. The Hypericum perforatum is a common shrub
in the cornfields of the Pabur and Oirree vallies ; and on the rocks near
Rooroo and Deorah, I noticed the Linaria incana, resembling in habit
the L. cymbalaria of Europe. Desmodium tomentosum is also a com-
mon shrub on the rocks in the Pabur valley hereabouts, and on the
Satlo] above Wangtoo bridge, preferring the wannest exposures.
There is an interesting route of three marches, from Rooroo Kothee vid
the Shikree Nudee, and over the Moraul ka Dunda, to Rampore on the
Sutluj, halting at Samurkot and Neura (or Neheree.) The country is
well peopled, and beautifully varied with forest and cultivation. In
May and June nothing can exceed the beauty of the wild roses,
(R. Brunonis) climbing up the dark pines and alders, and falling down
in splendid festoons of the most fragrant blossoms. Snow will be
foimd early in June on this route, when the heat at Rampore, imme-
diately below is almost intolerable.
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88 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
September 9th. — To Chergaon, an easy stage of ten miles up the right
bank of the Pabur, which we walked in three and a half hours. The cur-
rent of the river becomes more and mbre furious as we approach its source
in the Boorhun Ghatee ; and in several places, dashes along with the
greatest noise and violence amongst the granitic and other boulders,
which lie in its bed.
* * Vexed Scylla and the sea that parts
Calabria from the hoarse Trinacrian shore,"
are smooth water compared with it even in poetry; for it must be
acknowledged that in reality these classic rapids are wonderfully calm
and gentle. After a few miles, the road passes under a high range
of slaty mountains of a curious formation, presenting an appearance
more like a series of gigantic pine-apples or cheeses, than any thing else
I know of. This is owing to the inclination and interruption of the
strata, which on one side present steep faces of shattered rock, while
the. reverse side of the hummocks, though steep, is covered with grass.
There are no trees on these mountains, exposed as they are to the
withering influence of the southern sun ; the Desmodium tomentosum
is, however, abundant, and the Capparis nepaiensis creeps in patches
along the face of the sunny cli£fs. About eight miles from Rooroo» we
passed the village of Mundlee, held in free gift by Brahmans, but also
inhabited by a colony of Moosulmans, whose ancestors emigrated here
from Jounpoor, three or four generations ago. They still possess the
true faith and a supply of fowls and eggs. This is properly the first
village of Ghooara. The land is here almost wholly devoted to rice,
which will be ripe in October : till, koolthee, mash, &c. are still sown,
but not in any quantity ; and in spring, the poppy is rather largely cul-
tivated. Across the river on a spur from the mountains stands the
romantic fort of Butolee, near a large village called Musoola ; above
these rise the densely wooded flanks of the Changsheel range, facing the
north, and in full contrast to the mountains on the right bank, covered
with forests of pine (Pinus excelsa, Abies smithiana,) &c. Should the
traveller prefer it, he may, if bound from Simla to the Roopin Pass,
strike up from the glen of the Pabur at Raeengurh, and follow the
summit of the Changsheel range to Doodoo. This route is much cooler
and more interesting than that by Rooroo ; but there are no villages, and
two or three days supplies, a good map, pocket compass, and guides from
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Mandil village, are indispenBable. A little aboye Batalee, the Pabur
receives on the right bank the Mutretee river, from the Moral ke
Dhar, consisting of lofty, broken, glacis-like ridges, the strata lying
over towards the Sntluj, and probably rising to 13,000 feet. It is the
continuation of the Shatool range, and divides Ghooara from Dusao.
By fording the Mutretee at a mill in the line of the Pabur, a considerable
detour to the bridge up to its glen and a subsequent ascent of several
hundred feet may be avoided ; the short cut keeps close to the Pabur,
but it requires a steady head to pass in safety some narrow ledges
of rock, against which when the water is high, the current sets
»trongly, and none should then attempt it, who cannot depend on
their nerves. On our return, the Pabur had fallen considerably, and
we effected the passage without further inconvenience than what arose
from the chilly waters of the Mutretee, which must be forded. About two
miles on is Chergaon, a small and poor hamlet, about 6,000 feet above the
sea, in the angle formed by the junction of the Undretee or Indravutee
river with the Pabur. This impetuous torrent which is about equal in size
to the Pabor, pours down south from the Shatool Pass ; the bridge
having been carried away, we were forced to cross its angry waters by
a smgle tree, which my companion did unaided^ while I was glad to ac-
cept the assistance of a neighbouring miller. Al-sirat itself could scarce be
more narrow, or destruction more certain in the event of a slip. Cher-
gaon is well supplied with apricot and other fruit trees, and the brink of
the Pabur is shaded by alder, &c. The Toombroo peak, north of the
Shnnkun Ghatee. erroneously written Toongroo in the maps, is a con-
spicuous point from Chergaon down the glen of the Pabur.
September lOth* — To Moojwar village in Rol, twelve miles, a fatigu-
ing march, during which we accompanied our coolies, who halted
liberally to rest and smoke, so that we were eight hours on the road.
For three miles the path lies through rice cultivation and brush- wood,
np the left bank of the Undretee ; then crosses and ascends about 500
feet to Dugol, a Brahman village of eight or ten families on the right
bank, but in the map erroneously placed on the left. It is reckoned
6,800 feet above the sea, but the warm clothing of the inhabitants in-
dicates a much colder climate than would be due to such an ekva-
tion nearer the plains. The holy fathers are small, well made, well clad
men, but being afflicted with the itch, accompanied us to Rol for medi-
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90 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
cine, of which, by the way, every trayeller should carry a small supply
to meet the demands, which will be almost daily made by patients suf-
fering from liver, spleen, dysentery, and in short all the ills that flesh is
heir to, save blue cholera ; and if unflinching faith in the skill of the phy-
sician be conducive to a cure, the practitioner here should be successfid
indeed, for not iEsculapius himself was invested by the Greeks with
more certain healing powers than is every European — however modest
his pretensions in this department — by the mountaineers. From Dugol,
the path again descends to the river, and for two or three miles keeps
near its bank through beautiful English-like woods of elm, poplar,
alder, cornel, (Comus macrophylla) and birch (Betula cylindrostachya,)
with Abies smithiana on the heights. A little beyond Dugol, I found
by a stream a species of Eupatorium in flower, much resembling £•
cannabinum. We next recrossed to the left bank and followed it for
several miles by a path often bad and rocky, and impracticable to
ponies ; the scenery is very wild and beautiful, the Undretee forming
here, and indeed throughout the march, a series of foaming rapids : it is
quite unfordable. We now once more recrossed to the right bank, and
in a mile or two reached the junction of the two streams which iorm
the Undretee — viz., the Byansoo from the left, the Sheear from the right,
both flowing down from bare russet-coloured ridges, far above the re.
gion of forest, and evidently buried in snow for three-fourths of the
year. The Byansoo, I believe, originates in the Jalsoo Pass, about
13,000 feet high, which afforids a passage to Seran on the Sutluj. We
finally gained the left bank of the Byansoo by a fallen spruce, and aa-
cended the fork between the streams by a long and steep ascent to
Cheechwar, one of the Rol group of villages, 8,600 feet above the sea,
a pretty large and well-bmlt place, one and a half or two nules above
which, by an easy acclivity, we reached Moojwar. A blue aster, quite
similar to the Swiss A. alpina ; a large and handsome Inula by rivulets,
(I. royleana ?) the Parochetus oxalidifolia, the large-leaved elm (Ulmus
erosa ?) much like the Wych ehn, here called Mored and Paboona, afford-
ing much fodder to the cattle, with the walnut, peach, and oak, (Q.
semicarpifolia), are common in this district. Across the Sheear to the
east, the mountains present a lofty precipitous front to the we8t» clothed
with spruce and cedar. Across the Byansoo to the west are more bare,
brown, and very rugged mountains. On the north, the Shatool is cono
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cealed by rising land, but so far as one can see, the great range here is
deficient in the magnificent cliffs and crags of the Roopin and other
Passes to the eastward, but one is not yet high enough to judge fairly.
Moojwar is about 9,000 feet above the sea ; the houses large, of two
stories, very substantially constructed of stone and timber. The culti-
vation is chiefly Bathoo (Amaranthus anerdana,) and Phaphur or Buck-
wheat, with a little tobacco. The climate is severe and capricious,
and the people seem to consider the passage of the Shatool by no means
a trifle, and, as we afterwards found, endeavoured to intimidate our
people by the threat that not one of them would ever return ; nor was
a stonn of rain and thunder in the afternoon, much calculated to en-
courage them. The villagers have, however, agreed to accompany us,
and promised to have jsupplies for three days all ready in the morning.
They are said to have been recently implicated in a foray on their
neighbours beyond the next ridge whose sheep to the number of 1,500
they carried off after the manner of Rob Roy and his Gaterans. There
is no king in the land, and every man does that which is right in his own
eyes.
September 1 UA. — To Kala Koondar, ten or eleven miles, which took
OS eight hours, being much delayed by the constant halts of the coolies,
by my own rests and search for plants, and, after quitting the forest,
by a very diflicult path. The distances indeed are but approximations,
and are perhaps exaggerated; experience has shown that to the direct
map-distance about one-third must be added for the road- distance,
instead of one-seventh as in the plains; but Kala Koondar, and the
next two stages* being " vox et prseterea nihil" are not inserted on the
maps. Soon after leaving Moojwar, we passed the hamlet Jutwar,
the last and highest (9,200 feet,) on the route. Brush- wood and meadows
succeed, the first formed by Rosa sericea (a 4-petalled white species,)
Berberis brachybotrys (with bright red fruit,) and abundance of the
beautiful yellow Potentilla dubia ; while the pastures abound with the
sessile flowered Ins kemaonensis ; all these plants are equally charac-
teristic of the corresponding sites above Junglig and Jaka near the
Boorun and Roopin Passes. The late Dr. Hoffmeister shewed me
specimens of the above Potentilla, if they were not varieties of P. atro-
sanguinea, gathered at and above Ghitkool on the Buspa, in which
some of the petals were yellow and some carmine. On quitting the
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92 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
meadows, the route enters and ascends steeply through a forest of
Abies smithiana, Pinus exceka, Picea pindrow and P. webbiana, Quercus
semicarpifolia, Tazus baccata, Ribes acuminjltum (red currant) the
lemon-scented LaurustinuB (Viburnum nervosa,) Rosa sericea, &c., none
of the trees remarkable for size. The Picea pindrow and P. webbiana are
here and at Jaka, confounded under the name of Kulru, perhaps the
Chilrow of Royle, and these unconscious disciples of Lamark insist, that
the difference in the size and colour of their leaves is solely owing to the
inclemency of the wind and weather, on the exposed sites where the
Webbian species is found. We emerged from the forest at a spot called
Bhoojkal, 1 1 ,700 feet above the sea, and about three miles from Moojwar ;
the rest of the day's journey lies along the east or SB. exposure of the
mountains, destitute of trees, but covered with a new and rich aeries
of Alpine plants. A little beyond Bhoojkal and on the same level,
Reoonee, sometimes used as a halting place but a very bad one, occurs ;
and hereabouts much ground is lost by several steep descents to torrents
by rather dangerous paths. Above, to the left, the mountains exhibit
bare, but not precipitous shelves of gneiss rock, inclined from the route ;
to the right are deep glens, woods, torrents, and a few beds of snow,
all wild, lonely, and sublime. Kala Koondar is an open but steep spot in
a grassy, flowery glen, facing south, about 300 feet above the forest, and
12,000 above the sea, on a level with the Choor summit, which is
visible to SSW. We encamped amidst heavy rain and hail from the
north, which rendered the grass very cold and wet for our people and
ourselves too, having been compelled for want of hands, to leave our
charpaees on the road to-day. In these difficult tracts a good tarpaulin
under one's bedding is much more conveniently carried than a bed-stead,
and excludes the damp almost equally well; where both are absent,
a very excellent substitute is a thick layer of pine or yew branches.
The creeping juniper, here called Theloo but in Upper Kunawur
Pama (Juniperus squamosa), commences from 800 to 1,000 feet below
Kala Koondar. The open pastures are covered with a profusion of
alpine flowers among which are the Cyananthus lobata (called Kheeree),
the Dolomicea macrocephala (Dhoop or Googul), Saxifraga pamassiae-
folia (or a species very like it, also found on the Choor), and (on rocks)
Saxifraga mucronulata, Sieveisia elata, Swertia coerulea and several
other species, (one, a large plant with pale blue blossoms is probably
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Royle's S. perfoliata), the Sphelia latifolia of Don, Polygonum moUe (or
polystachyum), branonis, and vacciniifolium, (the last on rocks, a beau-
tifol species), Lonicera obovata, Senecio nigricans, Achillcea millifolia,
a yellow Tanacetum, Oxyria elatior, Sibbaldia procumbens, Spiroea
kamschatkika, (very like meadow-sweet), several Sedoms ; Morina lon-
gifolia, Caltha himalensis, Delphinium vestitum, Aconitum heterophyl-
lum, Phlomls bracteosa, Corydalis govaniana, Geranium wallichianum,
Picrorhiza kurrooa, and many more. Rhododendron campanulatum, is
common in the region of birch, and is called Ghumreesh. Simreesh,
Simrat, Simbur, &c. ; and above it is the much smaller Rhododendron
lepidotum or anthopogon with aromatic leaves, smelling when bruised
like those of walnut ; it is called Talsur. The capsules are in dense ter-
minal clusters, and the flowers are said to be red. Gualtheria tricho-
phylla with its beautiful azure fleshy calyx abounds on the sunny banks.
The above are so general in all the region above the forest on the
Snowy range, that it will be needless to specify them on every occasion.
The Cyananthus lobata covers extensive tracts with its blue (occasion-
ally white) periwinkle -like flowers ; at and above Nooroo Bassa on the
north side of the Roopin Pass, I found the seed ripe on the 20th of
September, while lower down, the plant was still in full bloom. In the
same way, on the Changsheel Range, Morina longifolia was all ripe on the
25th September, while on the 30th, it was still in full flower on Huttoo.
Rhododendron arboreum flowers in February and March at 7,000 feet,
and is not ripe till Christmas ; but R. campanulatum and anthopogon
(Talsur) which flower in May, June, and July, at 12,000 feet, are ripe
by the end of October. A strange alchymy of nature this, to ripen her
products first in the colder sites, but perhaps necessary to the existence
of plants in these elevated spots, where but for this provision, the early
winter would prevent their ever coming to maturity. " II est demontr^
(says the brilliant Frenchman,) que les choses ne peuvent 6tre autre-
ment : car, tout ^tant fait pour une fin, tout est n^cessairement pour la
meilleare fin. Remarquez bien que les nez ont 6t6 faits pour porter
des lunettes, aussi avons nous des lunettes. Les jambes sont visiblement
instittt^ pour ^tre chauss^, et nous avous des chausses. Les pierres
ont 6t6 form^es pour 6tre tailldes, et pour en faire des ch&teaux, aussi
monseigneur a un tres-beau chateau ; et les cochons ^tant faits pour 6tre
mang^, nous mangeons du pore toute Tann^.*'
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94 Diaty of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
The Dolomioea macrocephala is a very common plant in all the upper
Himalaya : Royle's plate, perhaps for want of space* represents the leaves
erect, which are naturally quite procumbent ; the root is highly valued
as incense, and as such, is presented to gods and rajas. The Picrorhiza
kurrooa grows abundantly on dry rubble from Kala Koondar to a great
height on each side of the Shatool Pass, but I did not notice it else*
where ; the root is excessively bitter, and is sold under the name of
Kurrooa in the Simla Bazar ; it is the Kutkee of Kemaon.
September I2th, — To Doodach, eight or nine miles, which our
coolies performed in four and a half hours. The route is much better
and more easy than yesterday's, gradually rising over slopes, for the
most part gentle, and crossing many rivulets from the left, some of them
chalybeate. The banks of these exhibit in some places great walla
of gneiss rock. The forest is now entirely lost sight of, and fuel
must be brought in from Kala Koondar. Doodach is an open and
level spot, well adapted for an encampment; it must be fully .13,000
feet above the sea, and is probably identical with the Kuneejan, of
Gerard. We had hard frost at night. The Undretee, a mere rivulet,
rises in a bed of snow, a little higher up, and flows about 200 feet
below us. Immediately above it, the opposite bank rises to a very
great height, in a magnificent facade of bare gneiss cliffs, the ledges
supporting deep beds of snow, and terminating to the north in a steep
conical peak, called the Dhuneer ka Thood. From these crags several
avalanches of rock fell down at night, with the noise of thunder.
Between our camp and the base of the Pass (about a mile,) the rock is
quartz, in immense coulees of shapeless masses, heaped together without
order and very difficult to climb over. They have fallen from a huge
and very curious rectangular mass, which forms the western side of the
Pass. Several interesting plants abound here ; the Sausstirea or Aplo-
taxis gossypina, clothed in dense wool, raises its conical form every
where on the rocky rubble to the top of the Pass, resembling a vegeta-
ble spectre. It is called Kusbul, Munna Kuswal, and Bhoot-pesh, and
is offered to the gods, who have evinced their care and favour by cloth-
ing it so warmly, exactly as they have protected the yak and alpine
goat with a thick waistcoat of pushmeena: Another Aplotaxis is defended
by a different contrivance ; the leaves are gradually converted into large
yellowish transparent bracts, enclosing the colts-foot-like blossoms as
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if in a head of cabbage. This plant is common amongst the large rocks
from Doodach nearly to the summit of the Pass, and is also sacred. It is
called " Birm (or Brem) Kounl (or Kouwul)," i. e. " Brahma's Lotus ;"
a similar species on the high mountains behind Gheenee, has a strong
odour of musk.
Eraser found the " Birmah Gounla" on the Bumsooroo Pass, between
Sookhee and Jnmnootree, and describes it thus — Stalk covered with
large and long leaves, somewhat like those of a primrose, ending in a
cup like that of a tulip, appearing merely the continuation of these
leaves, closing and forming the petals of a very noble flower, in the
centre of which the stamina and pistil are seen. Petals greenish to-
wards the base, but the middle and higher parts are black and yellow,
as is the centre of the cup, but more vivid. The latter part of the des-
cription appears derived from a Fritillaria, and very possibly from the same
plant which, " Pilgrim" (pp. 66, 67) says is so beautiful aft Kadamath in
April : and though growing on the hard ground and out of the melting
snow, is called " Lotus." In Kemaon, the Iris nepalensis is known as the
Neda Kumul, or blue Lotus ; and is a favourite plant with fukeers, &c.
Amongst the other plants found at Doodach and on to-day's route were
two species of Aconitum. One, which seems to be known as A. dissectum
(Hamiltonii or Speciosum) abounds at this elevation, and has the leaves
cut into 'five segments, with light blue blossoms. It is called here
Doodhiya Moura, but in Kunawur, Tilia Kachung. The other species, *
Aconitum ferox, is called Moura-bikh, or simply " Mora" (from mri, to
die,) and is reckoned extremely poisonous. It only occurred in one spot,
a mile or two above Kala Koondar, growing in an extensive patch, the
stems from four to six feet high, with long dense racemes of splendid
deep blue flowers : the follicles three. The mountaineers were shocked
when I told them that an equally deadly species was a favourite flower
in our English cottage gardens, where they concluded it could only be
planted in the view of occasionally getting rid of a superfluous boy or girl.
The handsome Ligularia amicoides (figured by Royle,) was in full bloom
every where about and above Doodach, and in similar situations all over
the Snowy and Changsheel ranges. On the south side of the Roopin
Pass there is another species, with reniform leaves. By the rivulets
on the route, and high upon the Pass, the Primula stuartii and
P. purpurea are abundant, and now with ripe seed. They are both
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96 LHary-ofan Ejccursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
called *' Jy-be*Jy*' or " Jyan," and are very ornamental in May»
June, and July. With these occurs a very handsome species of
Dracocepbalum or Lamium, called Ghirounta, with a strong camo-.
mile odour when hmised. On hare rocky ground from 12»800 feet up-
wards is found the Gentaurea (Aplotaxis) taraxicifolia, the " Dhoopree,"
with heads of purple blossom and a delicious fragrance like that of the
sweet colt's foot. The showy musk-scented Delphinium (brunonia-
num ?) grows near the foot of the Pass, and is called " Soopaloo,"
" Ruskur," " Ruskachung :" it is, I believe, the " Liokpo," of Upper
Kunawur, and is a curious illustration of the association in these lofty
regions of musk in the vegetable as well as the animal kingdom. The
Hymenolaena Govaniana, and several similar Umbelliferae, with bracts
greatly developed and beautifully fringed with white, are common, some
of them attaining the crest of the Pass ; among those lower down is
one with decompound leaves, of a strong aromatic parsley-like fra-
grance, here called Nesir, and mentioned by Eraser as occurring near
Jumnootree, under the name of Mahee. All this lofty region (from
12,000 to 13,000 feet) abounds with the Kanda, a species of prickly
Meconopsis, probably M. nepalensis, in form like Royle's M. aculeata
(which in his plate seems too deeply coloured,) except that the flowers
are of the most lovely azure. Amongst the Doodach rocks grows the
Sedum himalensis, very like the Rhodiola rosea of England, and
0 amongst the rocks and snow at the source of the Undretee I found the
Saxifraga granulata of England, and a Ranunculus (choorensis ?) much
like the R. gladalis of Switzerland. Such are a few of the plants
which '* blush unseen" on these desolate wilds ; a more leisurely exa-
mination would easily double the niuiber. Nature, where she cannot
be useful, seems determined to be ornamental, and converts these tracts
where grain will not ripen, into pastures and flower gardens, where
thousands of butterflies and insects enjoy their brief existence. The
utility of nature must not indeed be limited to man, for there is scarcely
one of these plants, the seeds of which do not support myriads of in-
sects as well as many birds ; and the highly successful experiment at
Muhasoo is a sufficient proof that many of the forest tracts at least,
and perhaps even the pastu^ lands above them might, by a moderate
expenditure of industry and enterprise, be rendered available for the pro-
duction of excellent potatoes, and thus enable the Himalaya to support
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1846.] attd Boorun Passes over ike Himaiaya^ 97
doable or treble its actaal population. Judging by the produce of the
flocks and herds which now partly graze on these pastures, the soil and
grass must be faultless ; every traveller is struck with the quality of
the milk — as rich as cream — at Rol, Jangleeg, and Jaka, placed at
ther lower limit of the belt where cultivation now ceases.
September ISth, — From Doodach over the Shatool Pass to Ateeng
Wodar, twelve to fourteen miles, in somewhat under seven hours. An
experienced native of Rol had eamestiy advised ua not to attempt the Pass
unless the day were fine, and we were so far fortunate as to have a cloud-
less morning, and reached the summit, perhaps four nules, in three hours,
mounting at a very easy pace ; the ascent, indeed, is less fatiguing
than that of the Choor from Seran ; and on its completion we expe-
rienced none of those feelings of headache, giddiness, distress in breath-
ing, &c., described by many travellers, and very sensibly felt by myself
on a former occasion on the Roopin Pass. The route lies up over the
frozen snow bed of the Undretee, and. then up one steep continuous
tract of broken, angular, masses of gneiss rock, of which there is a steep
escarpment to the right, capped by a thick bed of the purest snow.
The col, or semicircular summit of the Pass, is in its whole extent fur-
nished with numerous piles of stones called Shoogars or Thooas— ^the
'* Sbenezers" of gratefid and successful passengers ; in number and
height far exceeding those on the Roopin and Boorun Ghatees ; the pil-
lars being apparenUy in a direct ratio to the piety and the fear of the *
passengers, and the difficulty and danger overcome. Our men had
provided themselves with stores of fiowers, chiefly the Kounl and Munna-
kuswal saussurea, and the musk larkspur, which they tied in long
garlands, and with which they decorated, first the pillars, and then,'on the
Hindoo principle of *' Piirmeshwur-hai," ourselves. They cleurly fancy
their gods to be as fond of musk as they are. On sa cold a site, a few
faggots of wood would be a more rational offering; but as their evil
genii and demons are lodged in eternal fire, it is quite logical to locate
the gods in eternal cold and snow, and it is remarkiable that he who
was prophet at Medina, and impostor at Mecca, also patronized this
notion, for he affirmed that, when touched by the hand of Allah, the
sensation was that of intense cold. On our return by the Roopin Pass,
the garland ceremony was dispensed with, each man merely teieuing a
small portion of his clothes, and suspending it 6n the pillars, a cufttom
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98 Diary of an Etewrmn to the Shatool [No^ 170.
universal in these mountains, where we observe a bush or tree on each
more eminent pass, ornamented with votive rags of all colours, precisely
similar to those about holy wells, &c., in Ireland. With respect to
vegetation, the Primula purpurea and Sibbaldia purpurea grow very
high upon the south side of the Pass; the two Saussureas, a large
Sedum (probably S. asiaticum,) a Rumex, and a pretty pink Corydalis
(either hamiltonii or meifoha) reach the crest ; and above that of the
Roopin, I found patches of Potentilla inglesii ; so far are these elevated
ridges from being entirely forsaken by Flora !
The right or eastern portal of the Shatool Pass is formed by the. pin*
nacle of rock, 1,500 feet high, and 17,000 above the sea, visible from
Doodach ; it is called Dhuneer ka Thooa (the Dunerko of Gerard,) from
the Mookheea of Rol, who bribed a bold adventurer with a hundred
rupees to scale it, and erect a pile of stones in honour of the Deotahs and
himself. Moore tells us, that the schoolmen used to debate how many
angels could dance on the point of a needle without jostling each other ;
and some of these Himalayan needles are so sharp, that the same ques-
tion naturally suggests itself with respect to the thirty million of gods
which the Hindoo Mythology has peopled them with. The Dhuneer
ka Thooa sends down to the north a broken serrated spur, which falls
to the west in a lofty and most superb escarpment of naked rook, which
lay on our right as we descended. Looking down to the north, through
• the long vista of the glen, we had a glorious though somewhat limited
view of the lofty peaks of the snowy range beyond the Sutluj, separating
the Busehur district of Wangpo, north of the Wangtoo bridge, from the
districts of Manes and Dunkur, in Speetee, and crossed by the Taree
Pass, 16,400 feet above the sea. In some of our maps this range, or its
outliers behind Kanum and Cheenee> is called tb^ Damak Shoo, proba-
bly from the prevalence of the Dmnak, or various species of Astragalus,
Caragana, &c. which grow there, and which our travellers in Upper
Kunawur call Furze.
The Shatool Pass is 15,550 feet above the sea level, nearly 100 feet
below the top of Mont Blanc: and was first crossed in June 1816 by
General Hodgson, Kt is distinctly visible about £. 24^ north from the
top of Jaka at Simla, a degree or two to the left of Colonel Chadwick's
iKHise on the Muhasoo ridge, lying between two of those conspicuous
inclined peaks of which the rocky planes slope down to the east and
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£S£. at angles of from lO"" to 20^ considerably to the right of the
three^grouped and similarly inclined peaks, often but erroneously
pointed out as the Boorun Pass. It is owing to this conformation of
the strata that the routes up the Tallies near this portion of the Snowy
range invariably keep to their western and S W, sides ; on the opposite
ones, the strata '* crop out" in inaccessible crags.
Beautiful are the " balancings of the clouds" at this and the past
season in the Himalaya, and the endless variety of light and shade,
which they cause on mountain, forest, field, rock, and meadow. No
sooner has a shower feUen, and the sun shone out, than the process of
evaporation commences in the heated vallies ; the rising vapours are con-
densed at a given devation into clouds, which, with a snaiUlike move-
ment, creep up the mountain sides, and invest the summit or languidly
tumble over the ridge into the next valley ; " even in their very motion
tki&ce is rest." Occasionally an entire valley or large tract of the moun*
tain is covered with one fleecy mass, on which the spectator looks down
as on a sea, a lofty peak here and there jutting up like an island. It
must be confessed, however, that they are best at a distance and in
poetry. Disagreeable at Simla, they are dangerous on the Shatool,
where we had not been above half an hour, on the narrow crest, when
from the south, douds
** Rose curling fast beneath us, white and sulphury,
Like foam from the roused ocean of deep hell.
Whose every wave breaks on a living shore.
Heaped with the damned like pebbles ! ! !"
The wind also being very keen, and our only seat the snow, we effected
a speedy retreat down the great northern snow-bed, of which we only
reached the termination in an hour and three-quarters. The upper por-
tion had been covered to the depth of two or three inches by a recent
fall. To this succeeded a wearisome and, in many places, very steep and
difficult moraine composed of enormous sharp, shapeless, fragments of
gneiss piled on each other in wild confusion, the lowest ones resting on
frozen snow. TJ^ese would indeed prove " destruction's splinters" to
the unfortunate, overtaken here by a snow storm, which would paralyse
his hands and feet, and blind his eyes — all most essential accessories now ;
and accordingly this was the scene where Dr. Oerard in September
1820, had two of his people frozen to death at midday, and escaped
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100 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
himself with great difficulty and the loss of all his baggage. In no
month is the passage perfectly secure. It is effected with least difficulty
early in spring, as the snow then covers all the rocks which so much
impede one*s progress ; but I am not aware that the natives ever attempt
the Shatool till the rains have set in ; and even on the other Fuses
clear and perfectly calm weather is indispensable to safety.
The scenery on the northern declivity is wild and savage indeed r to
the right are the magnificent black cliffs before mentioned, which, from
the summit, slope back gently in great fields of snow, of the most
dazzling whiteness ; deep beds also lie at their base. Ta the left the
mountains are more bluff and rounded but still greatly shivered. The
Moraine ends to the north in a steep esluirpment, and latterly our
route over it, lay on the ridge of a very curious bund of snow, nibUe,
and rocks, about sixty feet high, and very steep on both sides, and
apparently artificial as any railway embankment. Except that frozen
snow is substituted for ice, the whole scene greatly resembles the Mer
de Glace, and other glaciers of Savoy and Switzerland. A turbid stream
issues from the base of the great snow-bed, and is joined by several
torrents from the left ; the combined stream a little below flows placidly
for a while over a nearly level dale. During the day time the powerful
rays of the sun melt the whole surface of the snow beds, and these tor-
rents become unfordable : but at night, when all is re-frozen, they
are dwindled to mere rivulets, only supplied from the bottom of the
snow-beds being melted by the heat of the earth, and hence they are
easily crossed in the morning. Below the moraine, the mountains rise
steeply on each side, covered, especially on the left, with grass and
herbage, now of a rich raw-sienna tint forming a strong contrast with
the great beds of white-quartz masses, which on this side extend down
to the valley, reflecting a most intolerable glare. The path, a very narrow
and bad one, finally keeps dose to the left bank of the stream, and so
continues to Ateeng Wodar, a summer station for shepherds, equivalent
to the ehaUta of the Alps, except that the Hisudayan mountaineer is
generally content with the shelter of a cave in the rocks, sometimes a
little improved by a rude wall in front. Ateeng is nearly in the latitude
of Rampoor, a short distance above the birch forest, about 12,000 feet
above the sea, and perhaps nine miles from the crest of the Pkkss. The
valley is narrow, and destitute of the savage features it possesses above,.
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1846. jl and Boorun Passes aver the Himalaya. 101
bat across the torrent to the east, the mountaus are still very, steep,
bold and lofty, with many deep ravines filled with show.
The vegetation consists here of Delphinium vestitum, Dolomioea ma-
crooephala, Cyananthos lobata, Onosma bracteata, aromatic rhododen-
dron, and Gassiope fastigiata (" Talsiree") the " heather" of Fraser ; with
it grew a shrub with all the appearance of a Vacdnium, but with neither
flowers uor/raockatu to enable one to decide. Between Ateeng and
the moraine, the Salix lindleyana creeps abundantly on the ground,
and Royle's Arenaria festucoides is not uncommon ; on the moraine
itself was a plant very like his Saxifraga imbricata, abundance of Ra-
nunculus choorensis, and one or two Gentians, in flower. These
mountains no where exhibit the carpet of blue Gentians and Campa-
nulas so lovely in the Alps. On the gravel beds and banks of the
stream, the Epilobium speciosum, perhaps the finest species of the
genus, grows in abundance.
The chief reasons for the Shatool Pass being so much dreaded are
first — the intrinsic difiiculty of the northern moraine, as well as the
descent from Ateeng to Panwee, where the path is so narrow that evea
laden sheep pass with some risk : and secondly, the remoteness of sup-
plies, fuel, and places of refuge. The Roopin and Boorun Ghatees
have each a village within one stage of their southern base, and on the
north, the valley of the Buspa is easily gained in one day by tolerable
paths. Laden men cannot reach the Shatool from Rol in less than two
days ; and at Ateeng Woodar, on its north side, they are still distant a
very hard day's« journey, by an execrable path, from the valley of the
Sutluj.
September 14th. — From Ateeng Wodar to Panwee, near the Sutluj
above Wangtoo bridge, a distance which we estimated to be sixteen
or seventeen miles, with a descent of 6,000 feet ; a very fatiguing march,
which we walked in eight hours, inclusive of several halts. In the
contrary direction, it would indeed be a tremendous journey, and should
be divided by all who travel for pleasure or profit. The route, by a
bad. pathway, gradually rises along the Alpine pastures, occasionally
traversing a dense coppice of Rhododendron campanulatum, R. anthopo-
gon (or lepidotum, the aromatic species) and mountain ash (Pyrus foliolosa
or ursina,) the latter in full fruit, the berries occasionally of a beau-
tiful waxy white, a variety probably of the usual red-fruited species.
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102 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
which I have also received from the Harung Pass ahove Sungla. It
forms a favourite food of the bears which are numerous hereabouts.
Mingled with and below the Rhododendron and mountain ash to
the right, are extensive shaggy woods of large white-barked birch
(Betula Bhojpatra.) recalling many a romantic spot in the Trosachs, Glen-
gariff, and Capel Carrig. The bark consists of as many as twenty layers,
and is much emp%yed in Kunawur in the flat roofs of the houses, where
it is laid under a stratum of clay. Supposing ^e Himalaya to have
emerged gradually from the ocean, this " tree of knowledge" may be held
the last best gift of heaven to man in the vegetable way, for it could not
exist till the mountain had attained an elevation of 9,000 or 10,000
feet; the silver fir, (Picea webbiana) must be nearly of the same
age, and thus we may form a comparative chronology of the dates
at which the various trees were successively produced. Quitting the
birch braes, we encountered a steep ascent under fine gneiss crags
and pinnacles, with tremendous declivities on the right hand, which
brought us to the crest of the Ootulmai Ghatee, (called Gongrunch
or Shaling by Alex. Gerard,) where the path turns to the left, and
leaves the Shatool glen. Hence to Panwee is one almost uninter*
mitted and generally extremely steep descent for a few hundred feet,
over loose rugged rocks, covered with the large and now scarlet leaves
of Saxifraga ligulata, and then through a superb forest of Picea web-
biana and Quercus semicarpifoHa, both streaming with long white
lichens, also birch, and a dense underwood of mountain ash, Rhododen-
dron campanulatum, Rosa webbiana, Syringa emodi (Lilac,) black and
red currants, yew, &c. At the bottom of this glen, perhaps a mile
down, we reached a small romantic dell, through which flows the
Skooling or Shaling stream, and here the scenery is of a Titanic gran-
deur and wildness. On all sides, feathered with the dark silver fir, vast
precipices spring up perpendicularly, and seem utterly to preclude
further progress ; it seems as if one had reached the gates of Hades. On
the brink of the stream the Greek Valerian (Polemonium caeruleum,)
and the lovely azure blue hound's tongue (Cynoglossum uncinatum,)
were flowering in abundance. God might have made a more beautiful
flower than this last, but he never did^ as some one has justly observed
of the strawberry as a fruit. Exit from this spot seems as imfuracticable
as from the happy valley of Rasselas, and is only obtained by a short
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sharp clamber, which introduces the wayfarer to the Panwee Dhunka,
a distance of three miles, the most dangerous I ever travened ; the path
so called* being excessively narrow, and carried along vast ledges of
rock, inclined at a high angle to a bottomless pit on the right, from
which they rise at an equally steep angle on the opposite side. I cannot
reoollect such enormous shelves of rock elsewhere, nor, exeept the Via
Mala on the Spliigen road, and the gorge of Oondo on tlse Simplon Pass,
an abyaa more profound. Neither of these, however, can compare with
the Panwee ka Dhunka in the extent and luxuriance of forest, which here
cbthea the mountains above and below, to the right and to the left
The Skooling falls in a fine cascade doWn to the right at such a depth,
that one can scarce bear to glance at it, save from such " coigne of
vantage" as a tree growing from the cliSs. " The least obhquity is
fatal here," and no one should attempt the passage who is not well
assured of his nerves, or weary of his life. Bossuet has a passage so
doquent, and so apt to such a situation, that my readers, if any, will
be pleased at its insertion here.
*' La vie humaine est semblable k un chemin dont Tissue est un pr^-
piee affireux. On nous en avertit d^ le premier pas : mais la loi est
port^, il faut avancer totgours. Je voudrais rotoumer en arridre :
Msrohe I marche { un poids invincible, une force irresistible nous en-
trs&ient; il faut sans cesse avancer vers le prMpioe. Mille traverses,
miUe peines nous fatiguent et nous inquietent dans la route. Encore si
je pouvais ^ter ce pr^pice affreux ! Non, non ; il fsut marcher, il
hxLt courir ; tdle est la rapidit6 des ann^es. On se console pourtant,
psrce que de temps en temps on rencontre des objets qui nous divertis-
Bsnt, des eaux courantea, des fleura qui passent ! On voudralt s'arr^ter :
Marche ! marche ! Bt cependant on voit tomber derri^re soi tout ce
qu'oA avait pass^ : fracas effiroyable ! iniSvitable mine ! On se console,
pafce qu'on emporte quelques fieurs cueilUes en passant, qu'on voit se
fitter entre ses mains du matin au soir, et quelques fruits, qu'on perden
les go6tant : enchantement ! illusion ! Toujours entrsdnd, tu approches
da gouffine affreux : di^jk tout commence fi s'effaeer, les jardins moins
flenris, les fieurs moins brillantes, leurs oouleurs moins vives, les prairies
moins riantes, les eaux moins claires ; tout se tnmit, tout s'efface. L'
ombre de la mort se pr^iente ; on commence £ sentir Tapproache du
goufire fatal. Mais il friut aller sur le bord. Encore un pas: d^jk
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I'horreur trouble lea sens, la t^te tourne, les yeux s'egarent. U faut
marcher : on youdrait retoumer en arri^re ; plus de mojens : tout
est tomb^, tout est 6vanoui, tout est ^happ6 !" and it was our fate to
escape these very literal precipices by an abrupt descent to Panwee, all
through a dense and lofty forest, excepting the last 500 feet, which
lead to the village through terraced cultivation. l*he forest trees occur in
the following descending order — Picea webbiana, first alone, and then
mixed with P. pindrow and Quercus semicarpifolia ;.then Abies smithiana
and Pinus excelsa, many of the latter fully 150 feet high. Lastly, the
cedar feathers all the bold crags about the village, which across the
Skooling torrent to the east rise precipitously into a lofty peak, arguing
no easy marches ahead.
We encamped by a temple where our people found excellent shelter
from the brisk showers which fell in the afternoon. A thick bush of
sacred juniper grows in the enclosure, and the vicinity is well shaded
by horse chestnut (Pavia indica), elm, peach, apricot, walnut, and mul-
berry trees. Panwee is a middling- sized village, above the left bank of
the Skooling river, two or three miles from Wangtoo bridge, and from
1,300 to 1,500 feet above it. From several points above the village, the
Sutluj, with the road to Chegaon, is visible ; as well as the wild glen of
the Wungur, which joins at the bridge in one succession of cataracts.
By visiting Panwee, we have enjoyed some of the sublimest scenery in
the world, at the expense of a stage on our way to Sungla, for the
direct route follows the Shatool stream to Melum, but our guides were,
or pretended to be, unacquainted with it, and on enquiry here, we
found that it is really impracticable to men with loads ; and have every
reason to believe it must be extremely difficult without that encum-
brance.
September I5th, — To Melum or Rarnn^ (the Melung of the map),
about ten miles in seven hours, by a difficult route, the path being for
the most part as rocky, and in some places as dangerous as any we
have traversed. At one almost impassable ledge, one of our dogs fell
and had a narrow escape. (By the bye, dogs should not be brought
into these parts — being perpetually in the way, to the risk of their own
and their master's necks.) In several places jutting crags are only passed
by the aid of the ladders, scaffoldings, and steps, so familiar to the tra-
veller in Kunawur. On leaving Panwee, there is a steep declivity to
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the torrent, which here forms a pretty cascade, as does that under
Melum, about a mile short of the viliage. The vegetation here consists
of rank grass, reeds, &c. Hence there is a considerable ascent to a
point affording an interesting view of the Sutlaj, and its picturesque
rocky gorge where spanned by the Wangtoo bridge. Our path then led
us down to the left bank of that river, now rolling along an impetuous
torrent of milky water. A long ascent succeeds, with the river from
300 to 1,500 feet right below; and above us to the right hand long
craggy fii^ades, bristling with cedar which abounds hereabout. The
road to Cheenee lies down on the opposite bank of the river. From the
brow of the last ascent our path turned to the right up the glen of Me-
lum, and met the Shatool Bus torrent in about two miles, where it has
deposited an immense accumulation of drift timber, the spoils of the
forests above. The trees on its banks here are chiefly Alnus obtusifolia,
Rhus buckiamela, and Spiraea lindleyana. A gentle ascent of about a
mile and a half brought us to Melum, also called Ramn6, a small but
well built village, about 7,000 feet above the sea, standing on a plateau,
closely backed by steep woody mountains. By avoiding the last steep
ascent to-day, and keeping direct on to the mouth of the Melum river,
we might perhaps have reached Keelba ; but the gentlemen and ladies
who carried our baggage assured us, we should repent if we tried the
very bad ascent from that stream.
September 16M. — ^To Keelba, about nine miles, which from the
excessive ruggedness and difficulty of the worst path in the world, and
its manifold steep dips and rises, we only accomplished in five and a half
hours. First we descended to, and crossed a torrent below Melum,
and then mounted by Yana or Janee village, till we came abreast of
Chegaon or Toling, and on a level with it, 7,225 feet above the sea. It
consists of a group of villages, with several large temples and extensive
cultivation. On the crags at this point, I noticed the Incarvillea diffusa
of Royle, an elegant plant which is also found on the Wangtoo rocks.
Hence the path falls to the Sutluj, and leaving Poonung above to the
right, continues along its brink for a few miles over boulders, gravel,
and sand, overrun by a shrubby, silvery, and very aromatic Artemisia ;
the river is fringed by the " Wee," a species of olive, probably Olea
ferruginea. The toom or ash, Fraxinus xanthoxylloides, is common,
but of no great size. It is frequently met with in the higher parts ot
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106 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
Kunawar, and is known about Rampoor, as the Gaha or Ungah. The
▼erj jaw-breaking specific name is very justly applied. The Daphne
mucronata of Royle here becomes a common shrub» called jeekoo ;
and near Yana, I first met a species of Celtis, called koo, of which the
drupe» now ripening, of the size of a small cherry, is sweet and edible.
There are two species or varieties ; one a large tree called Ro-koo, with
black or dark purple fruit; the other, Cho^koo, smaller, has yellow or
orange fruit. This, and not Elseagnus, as surmised by Royle» I take to
be the " red and mawkbhly sweet berry," produced on a shrub in
Hungrung, as mentioned by Herbert (Asiatic Researches, XV. 392.) :
as his " yellow and acid berry about the size of a currant," is no doubt
the fruit of the Soorch (Hippophae salicifolia). The Koo is pretty
common nearly up to Brooang, at Meeroo, &c. It has been mention-
ed to me by a friend as occurring under the name " Kaksi" near Jungee,
where, however, a subsequent enquirer couid hear nothing of it : in all
likelihood because the first had been misinformed as to the name;
" Kagshee" being the Cornus macrophylla, which has a leaf like the
Celtis. Both the Geltis and the Zizyphus have been identified with the
famous lotus of the Lotophagi ; but assuredly one may devour any
quantity of Koos or Bers, without risk of forgetting one's home and
friends. A little below Panwee, and generally up the left banks of the
Sutluj and Buspa to Brooang, at an average of 6,000 feet, there is abun-
dance of a species of oak, which I have not met elsewhere, though it
seemft to be the Quercus cassura, of Don's Prodromus. The leaves are
exceedingly waved and spinous, tomentose below (as are the cups of the
acorns, which are produced by six to eight) or solitary, on spikes or
peduncles of five or six inches. They are now nearly ripe. The tree
is called " Br^," but this seems to denote the genus only. Pinus
gerardiana is pretty common, but not very large on the crags, during
this day's journey : — and in the coppice, Abelia triflora occurs abundant-
ly, here called " Spung :" the " Takla" of Bulsun and Bhujee.
From the river-bank, the path now ascends for two miles or so, to a
few hundred feet above its level : another rainy season will, to all
appearance, render it impassable, and it is now as dangerous as
can well be imagined, crossing a vast landslip with a most precarious
footing on loose sand and rocks, highly inclined, where each step
receives and requires more deliberation than an act of Parliament.
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What has been done once may be done agam» but no reasonable man
would attempt this a second time. The reward consists in the view
of the river* here not above ten yards over, *< a hell of waters" rushing
on, like Pyriphlegethon, in perfect cataract, boiling, foaming, and tossed
up vertically in one continuous mass of spray in its ungovernable career,
amidst immense boulders, and under the tremendous precipices of
the right bank, which it seems bent on undermining. What an anti«
thesis between its recent quiescent state and gentle fall as ice and snow»
and this unruly turbulence, and then its almost stagnant course onward
to the ocean, where it enters on its final probation as vapor, realizing
the hell imagined by Shakespeare :—
" To reside
In thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice ;
To be impriBoned in the TiewleM winds,
And blown with restless violence about
The pendent world/*
Above this, the river receives an affluent from Meeroo, and on
an isolated rock, just above the junction, stands the Raja's Castle
of Gholing, the Chalgee of the map : still higher up, the Channel
widens, and the river flows with a strong uniform current, bounded by
a broad bed of shingle on its right bank. The Sutluj may here be said
to effect its passage through the great range, and^ generally, the travel-
ler cannot fail to be surprised at the manner, almost resembling instinct,
in which the river finds its way through such a labyrinth of mountains.
It has here indeed followed the natural line of a vast echellon formed
by the Shatool ranges to the south, and those of Speetee and KooUoo to
the north : and from the Thibet frontier at Shipkee to Rampoor has an
average fall of sixty feet per mile. The absence of lakes, and the ex^-
istence of so general and efficient a system of natural drainage seems
to argue the vast antiquity of the Himalaya, and may also serve to
establish Lyell's theory of a gradual upheavement of mountain chains,
which afforded time for the water to adjust their levels ; and to fill up
the basins with those deep deposits of gravel and boulders, through
which they are so often found to excavate their beds. The planes are
indeed still far from uniformity ; and the roar of the torrent and the cas»
cade, the sound of many waters, is rarely out of our ears as we approach
the higher mountains.
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108 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
From the rapids of the Sutlaj an abrupt ascent of several hundred
feet leads to the cultivation, chiefly buck wheat, and finally under
vineyards, to the romantic village of Keelba, situated immediately above
the river, surrounded by great niunbers of fine peach, apricot, walnut
and elm trees ; while some superb weeping willows flourish by the
beautifully clear rivulets which gush down on every hand from the
lofty mountains to the south. These are densely wooded, and shew a
front of splendid precipices to the north or north-west, ending in
a high bluff of rock, which seems' the " Yana Bui" of the map. Seen
from near Meeroo across the river, the appearance is as if a great tract
of ground had here subsided, having a high wall of rock on one sidci
reaching up to the Snowy range near the Boorun Ghatee. Meeroo
itself is hidden from Keelba, but the neighbouring village and cul-
tivated slopes of Oorinnee, 400 to 500 feet above us, are visible to
the north-west ; and to the east, the snowy peaks of the Ruldung just
come into view. The grapes here and at Brooang, &c. have totally
failed this year, probably from the prevalence of unseasonable rain,
which fell in drizzling showers to-day and yesterday, but cleared up
this afternoon. At Melum, a good room was placed at our disposal,
with a second for our people : and we have the same advantage at
Keelba.
September 17 th. — ^To Brooung, Booroo, or Brood, eight or nine miles.
We marched at 20 minutes to 8 a. m. and descended to the Sutluj,
which here flows in a broad and comparatively calm stream : the path
generally bad, lying up and down the crags, which are finally wooded
with ash, olive, and neoza pine (P. gerardiana.) At half past nine we
reached the confluence of the Buspa, which flows into the Sutluj like a
mill-race, and is equally muddy, marking its source in a granitic tract.
'* Pilgrim" attributes the turbid waters of the Neelung to its source
amongst mountains of slate clay (p. 33.) but on inspection of the Rul-
dung cluster, which may be called the cradle of the Buspa, with its great
scars and flaws of whitish granite, induces me to conclude that the dis-
coloration is due to the decomposition of this rock : it is exactly the
same with the Arveron at Chamouni. The bluff crags and cliffs,
feathered with cedar, and the twisted neoza, are very grand where the
rivers unite : the Sutluj comes down through a narrow rocky gorge,
a little above the point of confluence ; a good Sanga, 5,968 feet above the
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sea, is thrown across the Buspa, for the Pooaree and Gheena road ; but
our route lay up the rough, stony path on the left bank— -the river a per-
fect torrent, in a very deep confined gully, where the channel is
choked by huge boulders. At the fifth or sixth mile, we should have
quitted the gorge, and ascended to firooung: but we had loitered
behind the coolies, and proceeding to the Brooung stream, were in fall
route to Sungla, when we fortunately met its Mookheea on his way to
Ralee, who shewed us our mistake, and directed us back up a steep
ascent of about 800 feet, where we lost our way again in a wilderness
of firuit trees, and got at least 500 feet above the village, which, after
two hours' wandering in complete uncertainty, we at length hit on quite
accidentally. It is a poor scattered place, just above the left bank of
the stream from the Boorun Ghatee, the snows and peaks of which
are seen above : the inhabitants are a meagre, sickly race. It seems
to be the place called Soorung, in the trigonometrical map— <)ne
of its manifold errors in typography. The elevation is generally given
7,411 feet, but in a German map, publbhed at Berlin, it is stated to be
8,820 feet, (Paris) or 9,400 English, which is certainly too much.
On rivulets flowing into the Buspa, I noticed to*day a species of
Tussilago (colts-foot) with the habit of T. petasites ; it is said in May
and June to produce fragrant yellowish flowers. With it grew the
Polygonum runcinatum of Don's Prodromns.
September 18rA.— From Brooung to Sungla, about twelve miles, in
seven hours. For half this distance the path rises and fidls along the
left bank of the Buspa through beautiful scenery, the precipitous rocks
feathered with the neoza pine, here generally called Shungtee and Ree.
The course by the river then becomes impracticable ; and a steep ascent
of 2,000 feet succeeds nearly up to Ghansoo, with a line of stupendous
precipices to the right, the pents and ledges of which are clothed with
splendid cedar and kail (Pinus excelsa,) many of the latter not under
150 feet in height. To the left, the Buspa rages in a series of cataracts
through a tremendous abyss, which succeeds its comparatively level
course over the Sungla valley. Boisterous indeed is the career of this
aquatic Richard : its average fall being 250 feet per mile. The brink and
face of the steep on this side is fringed with many superb old tabular-
headed cedars, their gigantic boughs thrown about in wild disorder, like
Lear, with outstretched arms, appealing in vain to the unpitying heavens.
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110 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
The tree constantly prefers the steepest acclivities, a peculiarity which
must be respected by those now trying to naturalize it at home : it
will infaUibly perish if planted. in any ground approaching a swamp, a
condition unknown to the Himalaya. Near the foot of this ascent there
is a dogra or hamlet, belonging to Chansoo, with orchards of apricot,
walnut, and peach trees, of which last the very abundant fruit was
sweet and juicy. The people and the bears divide the prise ; the former
securing their share by day, which is dried in the sun for winter con-
sumption. The bears, who are said to be very numerous, devour their
portion by night. Ghansoo is 9,174 feet above the sea, and is a most
lovely and picture9que spot ; the continuation of the difb before men*
tioned, extending behind it in a lofty amj^theatre, the brow of which
is clothed with birch, now falling into the sere and yellow leaf of winter.
The fields of Ghansoo are shaded by very large walnut and cedar trees :
we measured an elm twcnty«niile feet round, at five from the ground.
From Ghansoo there is a route via Soangor Sheong. (9,000 feet), over
the Sheoo Ghatee, (13,350 feet), to Paneemor and the Boorun Gbatee.
It is very interesting from its carrying the traveller amongst the most
splendid cliff-scenery : and from the summit of the Sheoo Ghatee seve-
ral shadowy ranges, covered with snow, are seen to occupy the horizon
from north to north-east^-^the far away mountains of Ladakh and Thibet.
Our descent towards Sungla was amongst huge detached masses of
gneiss, and at about one*third the height ascended, we again reached the
Buspa, no longer roving like a maniac in a strait waistcoat, but flowing
rapidly, and frequently in three or four streams, along the open valley
of Sungla : Kumroo, the old capital of Busehur, is seen across the river,
and devated several hundred feet above it: it is about a mile from
Sungla; the intervening tract being a high plateau, a forest of fruit
trees. The rajas found themselves Tartar up here, and determining to
become Hindoo, removed to Rampoor, as-^arvM componert nui^fnu*^
Peter the Great left Asia and Moscow for Europe and Petersburg.
The banks of the Buspa are here fringed with the willow and " Soorch,"
(Hippophse salicifolia) ; and in three or four miles from Ghansoo, we
crossed to the right bank by a good Sanga, immediately under the
village of Sungla, close to which we encamped, by a temple adorned as
usual in these parts, with many beads and horns of wild sheep, deer, &c.
Some of them belonging to an animal called kin, skin, or sikeeng, are of
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monstrous dimensioiis. The very general practice of deconitmg the
temples (not of the men but) of the gods, with horns, which prevails
£ven amongst the Mohammedans of the Hindoo Koosh, reminds ns of
the expression-^" horns of the altar"-*-among the Jews, as well as of the
altar of Apollo at Delos, which is reported to have been wholly formed
of them. There is perhaps a reference to the rays of the son, which are
denoted in Hebrew by the word Kiran, which also expresses horns;
hence, when it is said " Moses' face shone," the Vulgate chooses to render
it — " was horned ;" and the Italian painters have ever since represented
the prophet with horns just as Alexander the Great (" Dhul," Kamein)
wears them in right of his father Jupiter Ammon. The sun would
naturally play a prominent rdle in the primeval worship of the Himalaya,
and I remember once at Paikha, on the upper Pabur, when marking out
a short vocabulary, having " Purmeshwur" given me as the name for
the sun : a significant commentary on the Gayatri !
Sungla is rather a large village, built on a slope facing the south-
east, about 150 feet above the Buspa, and 8,600 above the sea. There
seems no medium in the looks of the inhabitants* who are either very
handsome or very ugly. Of the extreme beauty of the valley there can
be but one opinion : the river flows swiftly down the centre over gravel
and stones ; above this, on plateau of various levels, is an abundant ter-
raced cultivation of cheena, bathoo, tobacco, kodah, and the beautiful
buckwheat, diversified by occasional woods of cedar, poplar, and the
usual fruit trees, irrigated ad libitum without labour ; the difficulty in the
hills being to level the ground, and in the plains to water it. To the
south the base of the outer Himalaya is sloping and verdant, with
woods of cedar and kdil firs : and immediately above the valley to the
north-east, rise the enormous bare, grey, rocky scarps and pinnacles of
the Ruldung group, with considerable snow beds wherever the slope
allows, and still resisting the force of the southern sun. This magni-
ficent group extends far up the Buspa towards and beyond Rukchum,
above which a single pyramid of rock springs up nearly to the height
of the loftiest peaks behind Sungla, 21,500 feet : but to see the valley
and its setting in all its perfection of pinnacle, crag, and fields of the
purest snow, one must mount to the highest hamlet towards the Roopin
Pass. The scene strongly recalled Chamouni to my mkid : the Buspa
enacts the Arve well, and in each situation the mountains actually rise
Q
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112 Diary of an Eseursion to the Shatooi [No. 170.
about 13,000 feet right above the spectator. Seen laterally from Gheenee
at only seven miles distance, the Ruldung presents the additional
feature of dark and extensive forests, and the sharp needles are there
mingled with long dome-shaped ridges, all invested in perpetual snow,
from which, in June and July, is heard the frequent crash of the ava-
lanche. *' Ruldung" is the Kunawuree name for Muhadeo, who resides
here, as Jove
* On the snowy top
Of cold Olympus ruled the middle air,
His highest heaven.'
The legend is, that Ruldung is a chip of the true Rylas near Mansoro-
wur, brought here at the desire of an ancient king and penitent : and
it is considered meritorious to perambulate the mountain, keeping it
always to the right hand, exactly as the cairns, &c., are circled in Scot-
land and Ireland, and for the same reason, i. e. because the sun goes
round the earth in this direction."' Amidst all this superstition, the
sublimity and immaculate purity of the Ch'hota Kylas render it no
mean.emblem of "the high and holy one that inhabiteth eternity ;" and
we may quote with admiration, if we do not adopt with conviction^ the
lines of the poet, written under the inspiration of similar scenery—
* Mighty Mont Blanc 1 thou wert to me
That moment with thy brow in heaven.
As sure a sign of Deity
As ere to mortal gaze was given, &c.*
There does, indeed, appear to be both benevolence and design in the
existence of these great mountain chains, and we may consider the
Himalaya as nature's vast reservoir for the irrigation of empires ; opened
every spring by PhcBbus Apollo, when like Amram's son, he ascends from
the south and causes the waters to gush from the flinty rock. It is
probable, that a portion of the Hindoo veneration for the range is owing
to its containing the springs of so many of the rivers which fertilize their
country.
When at Sungla, the traveller should not fail to ascend the Harong
Ghatee, over a brown sterile spur of the Ruldung, on the route to Me-
* I have seen a Sikh soldier go through exactly the same ceremony at a shrine near
Makhowal Anundpoor. From how much superstition would a knowledge of the aolar
system hfive rescued the world !
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bur and Cheenee, for the view of the snowy range and Passes to the
south. The scenery on the Buspa at Rukchum is said to be of the
finest description : want of time prevented our seeing them. At Sungla is
first met the petit shrine called Chasiun by the Buddhists ; in one of the
four sides a small cylinder revolves on an axis, which the passenger
puts in motion. Such a cylinder on a great scale may be seen in the
temple at Soongnum, inscribed all over with ' om mane pudme hom/
which Klaproth interprets ' oh ! the Jewel is in the lotus :" of which the
esoteric meaning is very deep. The prayer is considered as good as said
by each revolution ; an idea which could never have originated but in
the mechanical and material mind of the Mongolian race.
This day, the 18th, was cloudy, and snow fell on the Passes to the
southward, but the afternoon was fine. We halted on the 19th.
September 20th. — From Sungla to Nooroo Bassa, about ten miles,
in six hours, generally up an easy ascent by a path which is perfection,
compared with any between this and the Shatool : traversing first some
woods of cedar and koil, and then over the cultivated slopes of one or
two small hamlets, where the wheat and barley were being cut, and sent
down to Sungla. Above this, the path lies over grassy mountains,
with wooded crags across the torrent to the left-hand; the whole
somewhat tame after what we have seen, but for the Ruldung. The
Chough abounds amidst the cliffs in all this and the upper portion
of Kunawur. On the way to-day« we met a herd of the Yak, which
supplies the Chownree. In Thibet, or the neighbouring districts of
Toorkistan, we have the origin of the Pashas of one, two, three, or many
tails, who once carried terror over Europe. About 1,000 feet below
Nooroo, the path turns to the right, the glen of the Nu^oon Pftss being
straight ahead. About here large beds of ligularia amicoides were in
seed fully ripe, while on the south side of the range, it is still in fiill
blossom : 700 feet higher, the declivities are covered with Anagyris
barbata ; the seed nearly ripe, but much injured by grubs. The roots
are much branched, and extend several feet under ground. The plant
is here called Bkaloo ka buroot; it flowers in May and June, and
resembles a lupine of the deepest purple. Nooroo Bassa is an extensive
open piece of grassy land, 12,985 feet above the sea, and a few hundred
feet above the highest birches, which afford abundance of fuel. A
stream flows about 100 feet below to the south amongst beds of
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1 14 Diary of an Eacuraion to the Shatool ' [No. 170.
snow; its right bank is rugged and craggy; the left sloping and
covered with Cyananthus, &c., the general prospect limited and rather
uninteresting. A bitterly cold storm of sleet came down from the Pa88»
just as our tents arrived, and we had hard frost all night, fully a
month before it is thought of at Simla.
September 2l8t. — Over the Roopin Pass to Rasur or Rasrung. called
also Si^a Peechoo, distance eleven or twelve miles. We left Nooroo
at twenty minute past six a. m., and by an easy ascent reached the
crest of the Pass at a quarter past nine, including, as elsewhere, several
stoppages to collect seeds, &c. Heavy and suspicious masses of douda
accelerated our departure, but the sun soon dispelled them, and re*
vealed the gigantic forms which, surrounded us — the embodied frost —
giants of the Edda, and very unlike the guardian angels seen by
Gehazi to encompass the prophet. The northern declivity of the Pass
is quite a trifle in comparison with that of the Shatool. On the 20th
of September 1833, it was an unbroken and extensive sheet of snow, but
to-day we only met two beds of it near the summit ; nor is there any
Moraine, so terrible at the Shatool (torn its chaos of sharp gneiss
masses. Here the rock is chiefly flat micaceous slate, sometimes ap-
proaching to sandstone, and therefore of easy passage^ though not
macadamized. The grand cliffis of the Shatool are also wanting here,
but on the left or east, there are some flue shivered pinnacles of rock,
plentifully strewed with snow- beds and sufficiently high
• To shew,
That earth may reach to hea?en,
Yet leave vain man below.'
And nowhere does he appear vainer and more insignificant than
here, if we regard only his physical strength and size ; at the same
time, the mind of a Shakspeare or a Newton is more truly wonderful
and sublime than all the Ossas heaped on all the Pelions in the world.
The glory of the Roopin Pass consists in the cascades on its south side,
in its lovely valley, and in the views of the Buspa Dell and the Ruldung
pinnacles, which (torn this point are seen from N£. to E. rising from
great fields x)f the purest snow, untrodden by man, and probably by any
living thing. On the 21st September 1833, the thermometer boiled on
the summit of the Roopin at 186^: the elevation is reckoned to be
15,460 feet : and on that day about noon it stood in the shade at 49**,
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uid in the sun at 68^. It is the Pass marked Goonaa in the map,
which is another error, the Ooonaa being more to the west. " Pilgrim"
refuses to all this range the honour of being the veritable Himalaya, and
Captain Herbert considered, that the true continuation of this latter
was in the Ruldung group, penetrated by the Sutluj near Murung : it
is however merely a question of more or less ; and there is, at all events,
no denying that from the Shatool Pass eastward, there is a snowy
range, inasmuch as even on its south exposure, the snow never dis-
appears : nor can the ftict of its gradually declining below the zone of
perpetual snow in the Moral ka Kanda, between the Sutluj and the
Pabur, detract from its claim ; though it must be allowed, that the moun*
tains and Passes are inferior in altitude to those of Kemaon ; nor can the
north-western mountains, any more than the whole world, furnish the
prospect of overwhelming sublimity which the spectator enjoys from
the Gragur, Binsur, and many more points near Almorah. Still the
easternmost Pass into Kemaon from Thibet, the Byans, is under
16,000 feet elevation, and of so gentle ascent, that it is crossed on horse-
back : and the Chinese invasion of Nepal proves that, still more to the
east, the Passes can scarcely be so difficult as the Shatool.
Like Dean Swift, the mountains die at top first, and except a small
white Heliehrysum and the fragrant Centaurea, the vegetation on and
near the Pass is now being rapidly burnt up by the frost : two or three
Gentians, the Aconitum dissectum, and the Delphinium vestitum, seem
alone to defy its power : but few flowers remain of Saxifraga pamassiae-
folia (orglandulosa ?), Sieversia elata, Ligularia amicoides, the yellow
Tanacetum, common Senecio, and a Polygonum like the bistort of the
Alps. On the crest of the Pass grow the Aplotaxis gossypina, Poten-
tilla inglesii, HymenolsBua govaniana, Corydalis meifolia, and Saxi-
fraga imbricata; the last two in flower.
We quitted the crest at quarter past 10 a. m., the wind being bitterly
cold, and descended 800 feet or so, over loose stones and frozen snow,
by a steep rocky kloof to a kind of oval basin, extending in length
from NNW. to SSE. from six to eight miles, by two or three across*
enclosed by a barrier of black broken crags, debris, and snow beds ; the
8ur£ace covered with snow and mica slabs, thrown about in great con-
fusion ; a scene of utter silence and desolation. Here and there, there is a
pool of water, and a multitude of tiny rills trickled under the stones, the
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116 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
sources of the Roopin river, of which the glen below this valley, is
found, after a long and steep descent, to be completely blocked across
by a precipitous wall of black rock, from 250 to 300 feet high. Over
this the accumulated streams leap down by two falls, which, to the best of
my memory^ surpass in beauty the finest in Switzerland : the water
perfectly clear, and reduced to white mist like the Staubbach, falls in
the softest wreaths over succesive tiers of ledges, and about a mile lower
down, where the two falls are brought into one line, the effect is exceed-
ingly fine. The path has hitherto kept on the right bank of the stream,
but crosses between the falls, where in 1833, a deep snow-bed supplied a
bridge ; but this year, it is much melted here, though at the base of
the lower fell, the river passes under an enormous mass of it. Here the
path improves, following the narrow glen alongside the river, now
flowing gently for a few miles as if to rest after its great leap. The
mountain-cataract, which, having leaped from its more dazzling height,
* Even in the foaming strength of ita abyss,
(Which casts up misty columns that become
Clouds raining from the re- ascended skies,)
Lies low but mighty still.'
The lateral cliffs all down to Rasrung are continuous on each side of the
valley, and so whitened with cascades, that the scene considerably
resembles Lauterbrunnen, in the Canton Bern, and fully deserves that
name — ** nothing but springs." There is here indeed no wood, the whole
being quite above the region of forest ; but the grassy or rocky talus at
the base of the crags, as well as the small levels by the water, are richly
enamelled with flowers : — such as Primula stuartii, purpurea, and glabra :
Sieversia elata, Aconitum dissectum, Ligularia amicoides and another,
Polemonium cseruleum, Scrophularia urticsefolia, the blue Meconopsis,
and a host of Compositse and Labiatae, especially near the falls; the
Greek valerian is very common, and in full^ bloom, as is a very pretty
species of Forget-me-not ; these, and the Lotus comiculatus are amongst
the many examples which in these mountains frequently replace us for
a moment or two in our native land :
* And, as in forts to which beleaguerers win
Unhoped-for entrance through some friend within,
One clear idea wakened in the breast,
By Memory's magic, lets in all the rest.'
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Many of our Himalayan tourists, especially the earlier ones, have allow-
ed their imaginations to run away with their judgments, and have
dressed up their descriptions more in the style of Macpherson or of
Harris than of sober prose : but it must be admitted in extenuation,
that the reality of the scenery, and the champagne atmosphere, able to
drive all sadness but despair, have an inevitable tendency to exalt the
spirit to the etherial regions, which there, Ghamaeleon-like, naturally
assumes the tint of their deep native blue. Even in the physical de-
partment of the man, a greatly diminished dose of alcohol will suffice to
produce intoxication. The daily repetition, however, of the sublime
and beautiful, is very apt to create a revulsion of feeling, till at length,
to get rid of the perilous stuff which preys upon the heart, we take
refuge in apathy, and perhaps fall so low as to adopt the Frenchman's
panegyric, '* Grande, magnifique, superbe — pretty well I" or at least to
swear with Akenside— *
* Mind, mind alone, bear witness heaven and earth.
The proper foantains in itself contains
Of beauteous and sublime.'
After many delays from seed and plant-collecting, and a heavy storm
of lain and hail at the falls, we reached Rasrung at half-past 3 p. m. ; a
small sloping plot, covered with grass and flowers, just below the highest
birches on the right bank of the Roopin, which is here crossed by a
natural bridge of snow, still from twenty to twenty-five feet thick.
The usual encampment is a little lower down and on the opposite (or
left) side of the river, under a high cliff called Jeyral, where water
boils at 194®, which gives an elevation of 10|,800 feet. Rasrung is about
11,000. The sward here, and at Seetee, is much cut up by an animal
like "a rat without a tail," which is figured in Royle's Illustrations,
and is also found on the choor. It takes two hours to reach the upper
water-fall from Jeyral, and four, the crest of the Pass. We had frost
all night at Rasrung.
September 22nd. — To Jaka, ten miles, in six and a quarter hours. A
a cloudless morning, but we only reached our tents at 2 f. m. in time
to escape a heavy rain, which fell in snow on the Passes. The climate
up here is as " perfidious" as that of England : a sky without a speck
at six A. M. is overcast by noon : at 2 or 3 p. m. we have a storm, and all
is blue again : often however — and the phenomenon seems hitherto unex*
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118 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
plained-^no rain falls, but heavy clouds rest on all the mountains, which,
notwithstanding the increase of cold, altogether disappear during the
night. In Kemaon, when all else is perfectly serene, a fine thin wreath
of cloud may be seen to issue from the summits of Nunda Devee (No.
XIV. of the great map) and the Panch Choola (No. XIX.) which has
led Europeans to the conclusion that a volcano exists there : while the
natives solve the appearance by the supposition that culinary operations
are going on amongst the immortals.
The route to-day was by a very rocky and often tree-encumbered
path, but never difficult to a footman, following for some miles the
right bank of the river, which is then crossed by a snow-bridge. It
continues for a greater distance on the opposite bank, and finally re-
turns to the right side by another snow bed, which must be perma-
nent, being entered in the Trigonometrical Survey map^ made about
twenty-five years ago. For the first half or better, the glen, about 200
yards wide, is bounded on each side by noble-bastioned crags, in several
places rising vertically from the river full 1,500 feet, and terminating
in picturesque shattered pinnacles. The vegetation though luxuriant is
still herbaceous, only consisting of Aplotaxis aurita, Polygonum moUe,
Aconitum heterophyllum, Cynoglossum uncinatum, Sedum purpureum.
Spiraea kamtchatkica (Meadow-sweet), Polemonium cceruleum. Gera-
nium wallichianum, PotentUla atrosanguinea, Corydalis govaniana,
Scabiosa candolleana, Achillcea millefolia, a straggling Cerastium with
flowers like Stellaria holosteum, called Gundeeal, and used as a vege-
table. But the birch soon clothes the cliffs, and then fine clumps of the
dark silver fir (Picea webbiana) like so many gigantic cypresses,
appear and become the predominant tree, with maple, and a rich under-
wood of lilac or " Shapree" (Syringa Emodi), the lemon-scented Lau-
rustinus, " Tealain" or " Thelain" (Viburnum nervosum of Royle), Rho«
dodendron campanulatum, Lonicera obovata and bracteata, Rosa seri-
cea, Ribes glaciale and acuminata, several Salices, &c. Amongst the
shady rocks here and on the eastern side of the Ghangsheel, &c. grows
a large tall composite plant of the Gorymbifene, with a very strong
smell of raw carrots ; and on the cliffis of the right bank I found large
tufts of a very elegant Dianthus, in full bloom, of a pink colour.
The levels on the river banks are delightfully wooded with birch,
pine, maple, &c. : the scenery is so exquisitely beautiful, combined with
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the grandeur of the rocks, that one is tempted to reverse the Persian
proverb and ask what was the purpose of creating heaven while this
vaUey existed ? The Roopin, occasionally bridged and banked by snow-
bedsy and clear as crystal, dashes on from rock to rock, augmented every
half mile by rivulets firom the lateral cliffs and glens. These are gene-
rally constituted of mica-slate, but at the lowest snow- bed, the rock
alters to quartzose strata, with a corresponding change in the scenery.
Crossing to the right bank, the path ascends a steep of 800 to 1,000 feet,
and the silver fir gives place to a dense and lofty forest of koil and
pindrow pines, yew, hazel, Rosa webbiana, &c. The glen narrows to a
gorge, the left bank presenting a wall of magnificent cliffs, perhaps
2,000 feet high, facing WSW., the brow splendidly wooded with pine.
These cliffs soften down opposite Jaka into steep declivities, covered
with forest and spacious grassy glades. The river raves below, and
is no more approached in this stage. On leaving the forest, we
reached Jaka by about a mile of more open country, interspersed
with thickets of Rosa sericea, Berberis brachybotrys, &c. The pasture
is covered with Iris kemaonensis, Inula royleana, the scarlet and orange
varieties of Potentilla atrosanguinea, ^&c. Jaka is but a small village,
overhanging some huge crags, and surrounded by great horse -ch^snuts,
wahiuts, peaches, &c. under which we pitched, but found their shade
much too chilly. Water boiled at 198, which gives under 8,000
feet: but the place is probably higher. We found the people very
dvil; a frank, rough, good-humoured set, the Mookheea especially,
bemg a pattern of these excellent. adjectives, and like Democritus, meet-
ing every difficulty with a laugh or a loud whistle, the Lillibullero of
the Himalaya. The people are of small stature and dark complexion,
negroes almost compared with the fair faces of the vallies below Simla,
which proves, if proof be wanted, that the colour is not entirely depen-
dent on climate.
September 23n}.-*To Kooar, nine miles, in four and a quarter hours,
an easy stage in this direction. For about a mile and a half the path
18 execrably bad, rocky, and steep, descending about 1,500 feet to the
river, and reaching its bed by a short but rather difiicult ledge of rock,
known as the Tunkoor Ghat, which reminded us in a small way of the
Panwee ka Dhunka. The Roopin seems here to have several names,
Sheelwanee, Gosung, Tous, &c. We soon quitted its bed, and re-ascend-
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120 Diary of an Eseurtion to the ShatoQl [No. 170.
ed some 800 or 1,000 feet, through forests of pindrow, large hazel
trees (Corylus lacera), Grewia (or Celtis), Rhur buckiamela. Milling*
tonia dillenifolia, Staphylea emodi (nagdoun, the snake-subdner), Sym*
plocos panicolata, Betola cylindrostachya, elm, and maple ; the vege-
tation of Nagkunda. The opposite bank is one series of huge crags
and cliffs, falling sheer down to the riyer, with a " boundless conti«
guity" of pine above. A large tributary here joins the Roopin from the
wild shattered glen of the Nulgoon Pass. Open, grassy, and rather
warm mountains succeeded, on which the path gradually declines to
the river, where we reached the left bank by the sanga-^called in the
map, Wodar — from an impending rock, used as a sheep-fold. From
this an easy ascent of two miles, shaded by elm, Horn-beam (Carpinua
viminea), horse-chesnut, Comus macrophylla, rhus. Alder birch,
maple, and Mohroo oak— brought us to Poojalee, a very well-built
village, one of the group of four or five collectively, called Kooar, situat-
ed on the sunny slope of the mountains, amidst a profusion of the usual
fruit trees, and with a spacious tract of terraced cultivation, now one
rich glow of the splendid carmine, orange, and yellow hues of the
Bathoo, and the more delicate pink of the Phuphur or Buck- wheat. A
fine stream rattles past the village from the mountains above, which
extend from N£. to SB. covered with forest, and reaching the region of
birch. They slope up easily, but from N. to NB. several bold peaks
and bluff rocky promontories stand out in all the " wild pomp of
mountain majesty."
Though now uncommonly low, the Roopin is here quite unfordable ;
its general temperature from Rasrung down to Kooar, is in the day-time
from 46® to 50® at this season ; from the clearness of its water and the
beauty of its banks is most likely derived its name, which I think
signifies ** beautiful/' as " Pabur" means " clear" — ^Tous (or Tamasa)
" dark blue," &c. All the advantages indeed, of this valley, Paradise are
counterbalanced by some serious drawbacks, one of which, the goitre,
deforms rather than afflicts almost every inhabitant of Kooar ; for while
it shortens the breath, it does not, they say, shorten life or cause pain.
In so far as it disables its subject from climbing the mountains, nature
may seem to fail in adapting man's organization to his circumstances :
but I could not learn that with his breath she takes away his mind too.
as in those shocking samples of humanity, the cretins of the Valais, &c.
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Water boils ha« at 198, which would give about 8,000 feet elevation.
The villagers are of dark complexion. They keep numerous bee-hives,
as usual located in the walls of the houses, which are very substantial,
of atone and timber, roofed with thick slabs of mica^slate,
September 24M.— To Kala Panee, ten miles or perhaps more, in five
hours and fifty minutes, of which the minutes were spent at Doodoo«
The path fslls in about 600 feet to tiie Roopin, passes it by a sanga, and
continues for about a mile on the right bank through grass ; then crosses
a torrent firom the Changsheel PaM, and finally quits the Roopin river
and gkn by an ascent of 1,200 feet up the steep grassy mountain to
Doodoo or Doodrah, a considerable village, reckoned 8,732 feet above
the sea, and the chief place of the district called Ruwain in NW.
Ghirhwal ; the locality of which, I^insep in his account of the Ghoor-
ka war declared himself unable to assign. The Iris nepalensis is
plentiful here on the damp shady ground, as Iris decora is on the
sunny meadows below. The Mohroo oak (Quercus dilatata) grows at
Doodoo in great beauty and perfection : one specimen by the wayside
measured nineteen feet round at five from the ground, and possesses so
superb and verdant a head, that it would have been deified in the time
of the Druids. It does not appear that any superstition attaches in
these mountains to the oak similar to those which made the Greeks
people it with dryads and oracular demons, and the Celts to regard it as
the habitation of Damaway, their Jupiter Tonans, as apostrophized in
masonic strains by one Vettius Valens Antiochenus ;
' By the bright circle of the golden sun,
By the bright coarses of the errant moon,
By the dread potency of every star,
In the mysterious Zodiac's burning girth**-
By each and all of these supernal signs,
We do adjure thee, with this trusty blade,
To guard yon central oak, whose holy stem
Involyefl the spirit of high Taranis :~
Be this thy charge.'
Our mountaineers are too much accustomed to lop oak branches and
leaves for their cattle to beUeve there can be any thing very sacred
about it.
At Doodoo, the path turns to the right, and after rising for a mile or
more through an open cultivated country, enters the forest, in which it
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122 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
contiimeB generally ascending, for three miles more to Kala Panee,
which is a very damp confined spot, so closely hemmed in by the
trees as scarcely to afford space for a tent. This forest, covering the
north side of a spur from the Changsheel, is very dense and chilly,
consisting for the most part of tall pindrow firs, yew, maple, hazel,
cherry (Cerasus comuta), white-beam (Pyrus lanata), with a very rank
undergrowth of Nepeta govaniana (a very aromatic plant), Adenostem-
ma, and a tall shrubby species of Strobilanthes, which also abounds on
Huttoo and Muhasoo, and which the hillmen fancifully assert to flow-
er only on the year of the Muha-koomb at Hurdwar. The truth is, that
the plant is greedily eaten by sheep, and that perhaps not one in a
myriad escapes being browsed too low to admit its flowering, which
this season occurred from August till October.
Water boils here at 197^, and the elevation is probably about 9,000
feet. There is no village nearer than Doodoo, from which supplies
must be brought on. Heavy storms of rain, hail, and thunder all the
afternoon from 2 p. k. made this uncomfortable spot doubly wretched.
September 25th, — Over the Changsheel Pass to Looloot or Lourrot,
about eleven or twelve miles, which took us eight hours, including
many stops and a long rest on the Pass : the marph may be easily
performed in six hours. The route continues up the forest, which
abounds in streams ; path rather rocky, and blocked up by fallen trees.
The black bear is common and dangerous : we saw a man at Doodoo
who had been terribly torn by one without any provocation ; the white
or yellow species is also said to abound, but frequents the crags on the
heights above the forest. Emerging at length from its chilling shade,
we reached an alpine glade, like all the higher parts of the Changsheel,
a perfect carpet of flowers of all forms and colours ; the Botanic Garden
of Asia. Amongst them were conspicuous the Anagyris barbata, Morina
longifolia, and Codonopsis rotundifoUa; and now the Picea webbiana, Rosa
webbiana, lilac, currant, &c., appear, followed, as we rose, by Dolomiaea
macrocephala, Cassiope fastigiata, Ldgularia arnicoides, sweet Centaurea,
Polygonum vacciniifolium, tansy, and other plants of the snowy range.
On the western side, the Caltha govaniana (or Himalensis), the marsh
marigold of England, the azure Meconopsis, and a large Cynoglossum
(grandiflorum) resembling the common English hounds-tongue, are
abundant, as the Cyananthus lobata is on both sides. The crest
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of the Pass, 12,871 feet above the sea line, is attained after a consider^
able ascent in the region above the forest, with lofty grey crags and
spires of gneiss and mica slate above on the right hand ; and is conside-
red high enough to be worthy of the stone cairns which mark the fear
and the gratitude of the mountaineer. Being fortunate in a cloudless
day, we rested a considerable time on the summit to inoculate our
minds with the most extensive and magnificent panorama around us.
The snowy range, that embodied eternity, <* shining like truth" or
rather considerably more brilliant, is seen to perfection, and not looking
the worse for a good sprinkling of snow yesterday; the Changsheel
itself is perceived in this direction emanating from the parent mass in a
ridge of shattered crags and pinnacles, on which summer may be fimded
to have been just impaled by the frost-giants ; and the range from the
Boorun to the Shatool Pass, with its lofty, shelving, and now russet-
tinged continuation towards Rampoor and Huttoo. It is interesting to
observe how regularly the forest all round ceases at a regular level, or
at best creeps beyond the line of demarcation a little in the ravines, to
be succeeded by the zone of grass and flowers. Kooar is seen below
to the east, and on the west the view reaches down the vale of the
Pabur to Chergaon and Rooroo. To the SW. is a great reach of the
Changsheel, the rounded and almost tabular summits rising consider-
ably above the luxuriant forest which clothes their lower declivities, and
presenting, a gently sloping surface of the finest yellow autumnal tints ;
a most inviting though rather remote site for a settlement. The supply
of wood for fuel and timber is inexhaustible ; and the rice of Chooara
would supply abundance of one important element of food : — at all events,
it would furnish a most eligible spot for the head- quarters of a summer
party from Simla. The circle of vision is completed on the south by
a dreamy, mystic, " multitudinous sea," with the snowy range for the
bounding surf, the swelling outlines melting into each other, and the
whole seeming as if it reposed to all eternity after the enormous efforts
by which it was upheaved. The Himalaya is seen to the best advantage,
not at noon, but a little, before sun-set, when, especially in the cold
season, its whole extent is at once, and most gloriously lit up to a rose
or copper colour, <* one living sheet of burnished gold." Gradually the
"sober livery of grey twilight" creeps up towards tHe loftiest peaks,
extinguishes all their *< bright lights" and replaces them with the deadly
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124 Diary of an E»cwr$uM to the Shatool [No. 170,
pale hue of a corpse ; the soul of the mountaina has departed ; and if
the spectator be contemplating the rai^s north of Simla, he says or
MDgs its requiem with the pun — " Sic transit gloria Mundi /
The descent from the Changsheel Pass to Looloot is by the south side
of a great spur of the mountain, and is so gradual and winding that the
forest is not reached for above two miles; the first trees met are the
birch, the homed cherry, the mountain ash, the Kurshoo oak, the silver
fir, and most abundant coppice of Rhododendron campanulatum and
Rosa webbiana. The oak and far soon predominate; lower down the
forest is almost exclusively pindrow, with koil, rai, cedar and the sweet
Viburnum : and lastly, the usual thickets of Rosa sericea, Berberis, and
Indigofera, lead to the arable tracts. Except in the pindrow forest,
where it is steep and slippery, the path is generally very good this
stage« Water boils here at 198^, indicating an elevation of from 8,000
to 8,500 feet : but the thermometer had not been verified, nor the water
distilled, both very necessary to the accuracy of the process. Looloot
is an insignificant place, and the inhabitants seem a poor, filthy and
rather ill-looking race. They have had however, the spirit to introduce
the cultivation of the potato, of which we obtained a small but wel-
come supply. This is the only site beyond Muhasoo where we observed
any. A stream fiows towards the Pabur below Looloot; the opposite
side of the glen, to the S W., is thickly peopled, and beautifuUy cultivated*
the Bathoo as usual in the greatest proportion. With all its brilliuicy,
the bread made from its flour seems bitter and unwholesome.
September 26th, — ^To Chergaon, eight or nine miles, in three hours :
the first part of the toute is a descent of from 1,500 to 2,000 feet down
grassy mountains to the Pabur, which we crossed by a sanga of two
spars opposite Tikree. The path then keeps the right bank to Chergaon,
and is good, except in one place where it passes for a few hundred
yards on a narrow rocky ledge, about 200 feet above the river. Here,
in 1833, a friend of mine lost his ghoont by the Ml of a small bridge,
and in general, it is not advisable to take ponies beyond Chei^j^n.
In May and June, when the glen of the Pabur is excessivdj warm,
the traveUer to the Shatool and Boorun Passes may avoid it by keeping
the heights above the right bank by a route from Huttoo, given by
Captain Hutton, in one of the volumes of the Journal of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal. Even at this season we found the temperatnie
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disagreeably warm, till the Bunny forenoon was succeeded by a cool
doody day. On the 27th we walked to Rooroo Kothee in two and a
half hours.
September 28f A.— To Thana Kashain, ten and a half miles, in four
hoars and forty minutes : the road is good, chiefly through cultivation ;
quits the valley of the Pkbur about three miles below Rooroo, and in
two more, by an ascent of 1,000 feet, reaches Krassa, an exceedingly
well-built and comfortable looking village ; the Kunaits, or descendants
of the Rajpoots and aborigines occupying one department, and the
Kholees, or Helots, a separate one. These poor outcasts are held in
great contempt, and are never allowed to mix in society with their liege
k>rds, the Kunaits. In a pine-wood here, the downward traveller should
hreakfisst and pass the heat of the day. Hence the road undulates up
the left bank of the alder-fringed Pursrar or Dogra Nuddee, formed
by two branches which unite below Kuskain. We ascended the fork
for 600 or 800 feet, and encamped a little above the village in a very
airy spot, shaded by some fine cedars, with the twin-village Thana
a little below to the west. The elevation is probably 7,000 or 7,200
feet, which ensures a delicious climate after Rooroo. About 500 feet
higher, and a mile distant on the ridge above to NW., is the small but
rather inaccessible fort of Tikhur, formed by two square-roofed bas«
tions, connected by curtains, all of good masonry, and held by a garrison
of one man, who refused to surrender till my companion climbed over
the wall and opened the gate. The walk command an interesting
view of spacious and well-cnltured mountain slopes, with several large
vilkges, above which the koil pine abounds, erowned by the lofty
Ghumba ridge and Suraroo Pass. This is the Nawur District, rich in
iron ore, which is found disseminated in grains like iron*filings in a
grey, friable micaceous sandstone, which is quarried from mines a little
below the village, pulverized, and then washed in running water, which
carries off the earthy matter ; the ore is then smelted, and as much as
a thousand maunds are said to be made in favourable years : most of
which is carried on mules to Simla and the plains. The shafts or mines
dip at all angles, and are very like the dens of wild beasts ; they are
more or less inundated during the rains, and the work can consequently
only be carried on during the cold and dry seasons. Some of the ore
is sent to Shyl to be smelted, probably to economize wood. The usual
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126 Diarff of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
rock here is a silvery grey mica slate, containing a very large proportion
of quartz. There is also a blue clayslate, with which the houses are
roofed in the concave style.
September 29/A.— -To Shyl or Hurrela» ten miles, in six hours ; we
had considerable difficulty in getting coolees ; Kushain brought np its
quota punctually, but on applying to Thana, we found that the
Mookheea, having forgotten or disregarded, if he had ever heard, the
precept of the Temperance Societies —
*' There's not a joy this world can give like that it takes away,
When the glow of slight excitement yields to drunkenness the sway,"
lay gloriously or hopelessly drunk — ' o'er all the ills of life victorious ;' —
so that we were compelled to assume his official functions, and use a
little gentle coercion. The route lies up the mountain a little to the left
of Tikhur, and on reaching the crest of the Ghumbee range, continues
along it to the right, gradually ascending. The mountain, hitherto
smooth and grassy, with a mica slate basis here changes to gneiss,
which occurs in a labyrinth of great blocks and crags, with a coppice of
Kurshoo oak. Viburnum nervosum, cotoneaster, &c. The more common
plants are Nepeta govaniana, Impatiens (glandulosa ?), Potentilla atro-
sanguinea. Polygonum moUe, Delphinium vestitum, several umbelliferae,
and the Anemone discolor, " Kukra," which in May covers the moun-
tains with its white and blue. The acrid leaves are used by the moun-
taineers to raise blisters ; but they are said to produce bad sores, leaving
a permanent scar. The " Chitra" or Drosera muscipula — " Sundew" —
a curious little plant which abounds between Kotgurh and Simla is
applied in the same way. The elevation of the Suraroo Pass is 9,875
feet, commanding a glorious and extensive view, which includes the
Koopur and Kunchooa ranges, the Moral and Changsheel up to the
snows, with a long segment of the great range itself, in which the posi-
tions of the Shatool and Boorun Passes are well fixed by their p3n:amid8.
On the other side the huge wooded and grassy range of Huttoo is the
most prominent object, its base watered by the Chugountee Nuddee, the
opposite or western bank of which presents one of the most beautiful and
extensive sheets of cultivation in these mountains. Chumba, Chumbee, or
Chamee is a term very generally used in the Himalaya to express a moun-
tain range. The road to the summit of this Ghumbee is good, and we
reached it in three hours very quiet walking ; but the descent to Shyl is the
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very reverse, the path being very steep, bad, and rocky, oyer a most daz-
zling decomposing micaceoos shale near the top, and with some awkward .
steps near the bottom, where several streams are passed — the head waters
of the Chngountee, one of the main feeders of the Girree. Shyl is a
considerable village, or rather group of villages between two of these,
and possesses a good share of arable land. It belongs to Basehnr, and
is about 8,000 feet above the sea. Passing the villages we descended
by a rough flight of stone steps to a stream, and then re^ascended the
opposite or Huttoo side, till about 100 feet above Shyl. where we
pitched our tents by a Bowlee amidst woods of young cedar. Supplies
are got with difficulty from Rutnaree, a village, about one mile south,
which shares alternately with Shyl. the charge of hospitality, and which
would apparently transfer to it willingly the whole honor and merit of
entertaining strangers, perhaps from having hitherto been so unlucky
as to chance on few or no angels amongst them.
September 30M. — ^To Nagkunda, eight or nine miles, over Huttoo
mountain, of which we reached the summit, 10,670 feet, (water boiling
at IQO'') in 1 h. 50 m. by the Pugdundee route, which keeps to the left of
and below the made road, and, which from precipitous rocks, is impractica-
ble for ponies. The made road passes under a ruined fort called Kurena,
and then over the north shoulder of Huttoo, within 400 feet of the
Bttmmit, on which we passed some hours. Huttoo or Whartoo, may be
called the Righi of the Himalaya ; but it must be confessed, that we are
here totally deficient in three main constituents to the attractions of the
Alps: first, their exquisite lakes; second, their equally exquisite hotels
and markets ; and third, their historical or legendary associations, such
as those of William Tell, and the confederates of Griitli. In Hindooism
the gods interpose so constancy, that man is nothing. But so far as
natural scenery is concerned, I do not know a more delightful walk than
that along the rounded swelling knolls of the Huttoo range, with its edg-
ing of " castled crags" of gneiss rock to the north-west, its alternate
coppices of Kurshoo oak, and meadows enamelled with flowers, and its
spacious views. Those of the snowy range are inferior to few, extending
from (probably) the Peer Punjal of Kashmeer by the Chumba, KooUoo,
and Shatool ranges, to and beyond Jumnootree, which rises over the high
slopes of the Ghangsheel like a double-poled tent. Choor, Koopur, Kun-
phooa, Moral, are all conspicuous features ; Huttoo itself being protract-
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126 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
ed towards the last in the darkly wooded summit of Kot, below which to
the right is Nowagurh, once a garrison of the Ohoorkas, who had also
several posts, now dilapidated, on Hattoo, and who indeed, Kenite-like,
made their nests on the rocks of every commanding height in these pro-
vinces. Half way between the Ghoor and Kunchooa range in Tiroch (the
Ootroj of the map,) appears an isolated -summit, probably Deobun, on the
Mussooree road, between the Tons and the Jumna. On the W. and SW.
are the Shallee and Muhasoo mountains, and on a clear day the houses
of Simla may be discovered on the distant and hummock-like Jaka,
which, after the grander features of the interior, looks small indeed. All
around is the same ocean of summits and ranges which render the
Himalaya rather one vast mountain of 1,500 or 2,000 miles in length,
than a series of mountains ; for no where do we find the comparatively
broad rallies of other systems, and this character may be best expressed
by a different reading of one of Campbell's lines, *' its peaks are a thou*
sand, their bases are one.'' In the absence of lakes it is apparently
parallel to the Andes. Including the charming walk from the summit
of Huttoo down to Kotgurh, and the ascent thence to Nagkunda, the
ix)tani8t will enjoy a rich treat on Huttoo and its great buttresses. The
summit pastures are alive with Fritillaria verticillata, Morina longifolia,
Aster alpina. Anemone discolor, Corydalis govaniana, Potentilla atrosan-
guinea, Viola reniformis, Hemiphragma heterophylla, Veronica, &c. &c. ;
and the crags with Lloydia Himalensis, Saxifraga ligulata and parnas*
sisefolia, the shrubby PotentiUa rigida or arbuscula, Anemone villosa
(which is very common on the rocky banks of rivulets above the forest
belt of the great range), two species of Lonicera, one of which greatly
resembles L. alpigena, Ribes acuminata, Pyrus fdiolosa and lanata,
and a few very stunted specimens of Rhododendron lepidotum. The
Roscoea alpina is found up to 9,500 feet. The declirities of the monn*
tain are clothed by a magnificent forest of Abies smithiana, Picea pin*
drow, Quercus semicarpifolia, maple,, yew, and towards Nagkunda,
sweet scented Viburnum (Thelain), Kadsura grandiflora, Deutzia corym-
bosa, Philadelphus tomentosa, Symptocos paniculata (Lodh, Loj — a sheet
.(5f white bloom in May), the scanitent Hydrangea, (H. altissima), Rhus
buckiamela, Jasminum revolutum, and many species of Desmodium,
Indigofera, Berberis, Clematis, &c. form a dense brushwood or coppice ;
while the mossy rocks and shady banks are covered with Wulfenia am-
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hentiaaa. Primula dentioulata, Pedicolaris megalantha, Gypsophila oeras-
tioides, " Bhatlee," several beautiful species of Impadens ; and in the
deepest recesses of the woods Actsoa acuminata, AcoBitum palmatum,
Angelica glanca, Adenostemma, Strobilanthes, Liliom giganteum, called
*' Book," and Arum speoiosum, '* Oangsh or Jungoosh/' a curious plant,
the spathe of which beautifully striated with green* and ending in a long
thread, bears an alarming resemblauoe to the hood of the cobra di capello.
In autumn the bushes towards Kotgurh are matted with the leafless and
sweet-scented Dodder (Cuscuta grandiflora), which, having no root, the
natives may safely promise boundless wealth to the ludcy man who finds
it. The Akash-bel, or heavenly twiner of the plains, Cuscuta refleza,
may be considered the Mistletoe of the Brahmans.
Huttoo only requires a deep lake and a slide of Alpnach to be a mine
of wealth in its timber ; at present it lives, dies, and roU uselessly. In
several places large tracts of pine have been killed, perhi^s by lightning,
and remind us of Milton :«-
'* As when heaven's fire
Hath scathed the forest oaks or mountain pine^,
With singed top, their stately growth, though bare,
Stands on the blasted heath."
The Berbery at Nagknnda, &o. is a distinct species, which is now
covered with the most profuse crop of fruit, of a fine blue, with a bloom
of a pink or lilac colour. It makes excellent jam, and I have had the
pleasure of seeing young plants raised in Dublin from seeds which had
undergone that fiery ordeal unscathed.
The descent to Nagkunda occupied us one hour and twenty- five
minutes ; there is a good bungalow, and two or three buneeas. As is
frequently the case in this direction, the waters flow on one side to the
Bay of Bengal, and on the other to the Arabian sea. The elevation of
the bungalow is 9,000 feet. In one of the shady glens to the north,
snd about 1,000 feet below, there is a most copious chalybeate spring,
known as the Lal-panee.
Hie Polygonum molle or polystachyium is very luxuriant about
Nagkunda.
October \st, -^From Nagkunda to Muteeana, by the Pugdundee route,
over the back of the Kumuloree or Sheerkot mountain, about ten miles,
which we walked in three and three-quarter hours. The path rises
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130 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
through brushwood immediately behind the bungalow for about 4,000
feet, or 10,000 above the sea. and in about two miles enters the
forest of pindrow, yew, maple, white*beam, Cerasus comuta, Co-
toneaster affinia (Rous) and acuminata, with occasional glades covered
with the richest beds of flowers, Potentilla atrosanguinea. Anemone dis-
color, Gkranium wallichianum, Aplotaxis aurita, Spirsea kamtchatkica,
Campanula latifolia. Ranunculus, &c. In the forest we find Erysimum
alliaria, Strobilanthes wallichii, Nepeta govaniana, Aconitum palma-
turn, Callimeris flexuosa, and a species of Diplopappus resembling it,
Senecio canescens, and a very elegant species, perhaps asplenifolius, also
common on the north side of Huttoo : on the rocks, Mulgedium macror*
hiza, Saxifraga ligulata, mucronulata, and another : and under the
shadiest crags, the may-apple of N. America, Podophyllum emodi,
and the enchanter's night-shade, Circaea interknedia, whose only connec-
tion with the black art seems to be the fact of its loving the absence of
the sun. The views of the Chumba and KooUoo snowy ranges are
magnificent, seen over and through the primeval forest, with the great
range of Mundee to the right or north, the base covered with villages
and cultivation, and the crest reaching up to about 1 1 ,000 feet, reported
to afford cedar of the first dimensions. Huttoo lies on the left hand,
and, latterly, Shallee, Muhasoo, and Simla, in front. At an abrupt
turn, a path strikes down to the right towards the Sutluj and Koolloo,
which must be carefully avoided, as well as another a little further on
to the left, which will equally, though not so fatally, mislead the way*
farer, and beguile him of his summum-bonum, which, under present
circumstances, is probably his breakfast. A convenient and most
romantic spot for this is on some crags about half way, where there is
a small spring just below the path to the north. So far the difficulties
of this route have consisted mainly in the fallen trees ; but beyond this,
both in and out of the forest, it becomes so rocky in several places, as
to be totally inaccessible to ponies, and very difficult to jumpans. On
leaving the forest, there is a rapid descent of about 600 feet to some
crags, under which a multitude of sheep are tended, and on which will
be found a very pretty white Sedum or Sempervivum, and the shrubby
Polygonum graminifolium : after this four miles of pleasant walking
along and down the southern and grassy face of the mountains, latterly
through cultivation, lead to Muteeana bungalow, 7,900 feet, which
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having neither doors nor window-frames, offers bat a cold welcome,
with a roof, too, resembling the sieve of the Danaides : they manage
these things better in the plains and in Kemaon ; but a decree has
I believe gone forth for the erection of a new bungalow in a more con-
venient site than the present, which is more suited to the herald Mer«
cnry than to the mortal, weary, and thirsty traveller. It was the full
intention of the late Major Broadfoot, C. B., to open the Pugdundee
nmte, so greatly superior in scenery and shade to the made road,
which, besides being nearly two miles longer, dips deeply into the hot
glen below Muteeana, and is uninteresting till within a few miles
of Nagkunda. It will always, nevertheless, be necessary as the winter
medium of communication with Kotgurh, when the northern exposure
of the mountain is buried in snow. In this warm glen, and in that of
the Girree, grows the shirsha, a species of Acacia, perhaps A. smithiana,
with flowers in May of the size of A. speciosa or Lebekh, the Siris of
the plains, except that its long tassels of stamens are rose-coloured, and
that it has not the delightful lemon fragrance of the latter. The
shirsha greatly resembles A. julibrissi^ (i. e. gul-i-reshm or silk-flower),
a Persian species, which is naturalized about Como. In the same glen
will be found the pretty little Parochetus oxalidifoha or communis, the
Cedrela serrata, Populus ciliata; and in the cornfields on the way side,
the Nepal wall-flower (Erysimum robustum), Silene inflata, Carduus
nutans (the fine purple thistle), &c.
October 2nd, — To Fagoo, fifteen miles in five hours : the road rises
to die Punta Ohatee, 8,500 feet, 100 feet above which to the right,
stands a ruined post of the Ghoorkalees, who near this inflicted a
decisive defeat on the mountaineers. Hence it descends and makes a
great circuit to, and up the Kunag Ghatee, 8,400 feet, with the Teeba,
^00 feet higher to the right ; it then passes a little under Theog, and
leaches Fagoo by a long but gentle ascent. Except some koil and
oak woods below Theog, and the forest of Mohroo oak on the Kunag
mountain, there is but little wood in this stage ; the Mohroo oak (Quercus
dilatata) considerably resembles the beautiful evergreen oak of Nynee
Tal, and the Binsur and Gagur ranges in Kemaon, where it is known
as the Illonj, Kilonj, or Timsha : it is the Quercus kamroopii of Don's
prodromus : this botanist was afterwards inclined to identify the two
trees, but they differ considerably in several particulars. A few specimens
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132 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170.
of QuercuB kamroopii may be seen on a south aspect at Simla on the
lower bazar road, near Lord Combermere's bridge : and far down in the
▼allies grows the " Banee/' (the Funiyat of Kemaon), or Qaercos annu*
lata, which Don calls Quercus phollata. T|}e handsome globe-thistle, the
Echinops cornigera, is very abundant on the sunny rocks of the Punta and
Kunag ghats, and Morina longifolia flourishes on the Kunag Teeba : net*
ther of these plants occurs nearer Simla, though Muhasoo would at first
sight promise them : but the neighbourhood of the plains seems
inimical to many Himalayan plants : just as thyme is plentiful at
Almorah, but unknown at Nynee Tal and the Gagur, with a much
more favourable elevation. The Iris decora is common on the grassy
slopes of the Kunag mountain, and towards Fagoo, the Spiraea cunei*
folia, " Takoo," in May and June, whitens as the roadside*like haw-
thorn. The red Potentilla (P. nepalensis) and the deep*blue Gynoglossum
furcatura abound at Theog, and tufts of the delicate little Androsaoe
sarmentoea hung, as at Simla, from the sunny rocks.
This stage is generally decried as the most uninteresting near Simla,
BX^d it is assuredly rather bare : yet the views are fine ; the bold bare
precipitous peak and ridge of Shallee, like a lion couchant, are no
where seen to such advantage, and are novel features in the more
usual scenery of Simla. On the left hand are the snowy range, Jum-
mootree, and the Choor ; and latterly in the same direction the great
northern spur of this last "cloud compeller" with its seamed and
scarped flanks, pleasant meadows, and beautiful woods, reminds the
traveller towards Mussooree, of one of the most picturesque excursions
short of the snows ; and the botanist, of Trillium govanianum, Actaea
acuminata, Paris polyphyllum. Podophyllum emodi, and several Poly*
gonatums and Smilacinas, which Fraser, by a pardonable deviation from
botanical orthodoxy, calls the lily of the valley. The mountaineers
commonly distinguish the Choor as the " Choor ochandnee" or " crest of
silver," the original having no reference to any abstraction of silver
spoons, as some, impelled thereto by Indian experience, have supposed.
The summit exhibits the only granite hitherto discovered amongst the
outer ranges of the NW. mountains, and is apparently a continuation
of the line of granitic out-breaks traced by Mr. Batten in Kemaon,
inside of the Gagur, which, in all likelihood, owes its superior altitude tor
the vicinity of this great natural lever. The granite of the Choor is*
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however, aomewhat different from that of Kemaon and the snowy
range ; and it is a remarkable fact, that this last (1 speak from specimens
of the vast precipices of Sookhee. near Gungootree) is identical in its
abundance of felspar and black schorl crystals, with the granite of the
Ajmeer hills; where, by the way, is an example never yet, I think, pub-
lished, fully as conclusive on the igneous origin of this rock as the more
celebrated Olentilt in Perthshire. The exact locality is three or four
miles west of Nusseerabad, on the way to Rajgurh, where the granite is
seen penetrating the stratified rocks in a complete and very extensive
network of veins, and in several places imbedding large masses of them»
in a manner that must satisfy the most sceptical, it was once in a state
of fusion. The Choor also, which like another Briareus, with a hun-
dred arms, domineers over the outer Himalaya, is the nearest point to
Simla, where we meet with the silver fir ; and separated as it is by com-
paratively low ridges from the great ranges which form the natural
habitat of the tree, the fact necessarily gives rise to speculations on its
origin, and as in the similar case of the Alpaca and Llama of the isolated
Cordilleras of the Andes, and its own Lagomys or tailless rat, induces
the question whether nature does not necessarily and independently
give birth " automate" to like forms of organization under similar cir*
cumstances. Every traveller in the colder tracts of the Himalaya must
remark the resemblance of the genera to those of Europe : while, with
very few exceptions, the species are different ; so much so, that as Mr.
Batten observes, though our oaks have acorns all right, the absence of
the sinuous leaf of the English tree is enough almost to excommuni'
cate our spinous brethren. The only exception to the above rule appears
to be in New Holland, as compared with a like soil and climate in South
Africa, where her productions, animal and vegetable, are so dissimilar
in plan from those of all the world besides.
The homeward route from Muteeana to Simla may be agreeably
varied by a diversion to the Shallee mountain. From Muteeana to
Bhogra» 1,500 to 2,000 feet below its summit, is a walk of six or seven
hours by a path scarcely practicable for ponies. Back to 'Fagoo, via
Kiarree, is about the same distance, including a long and tiresome ascent
from the Nawul Khud : or one may return to Simla direct by Deotee in
the Kotar state. Bhogra is the most southern of the cluster of &ve
villages visible from Fagoo, on the east face of Shallee, the property of
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134 Diary of an Exwrsian to the Shatool [No. 170.
the Thakoor of Kiaree Mudhan. Though very steep and rocky, there is no
difficulty in the ascent to the summit, (9,623 feet above sea level,) where
Bheema Kalee or Devee * towers in her pride of place', in a small octa-
gonal temple, and as nature personified, enjoys, when she pleases to
look out, an exceedingly extensive and impressive view of her own
woiks and votaries. Her character and attributes seem as severe as
those of the Taurian Diana ; and the mountaineers, who scarcely acknow-
ledge any other god or goddess, hold her in such awe, that I have known
one of them positively refuse to approach nearer than 300 or 400 yards to
her fane, though it was our only shelter from a cutting blast. Hence,
no doubt, she is said in Hindoo mythology to be the daughter of Hima-
laya. The entire northern face of Shallee is covered with dense forest,
amongst which the Cupresseus torulosa is found in considerable quantity,
being the only site in these Provinces where it appears to be truly indige-
nous. The day-lily, Hemerocallis disticha, is common by the water-
courses, as is the Abelia trifiora on the warmer exposures. On the sum-
mit grow Ephedra saxatilis — *' syr" — and a silvery Artemisia, very like
the A. rupestris of the Rhine.
" All things are full of error" said one of the ancients ; and it is at best
but a quixotic procedure to wander out of one's way to refute it» at the
imminent risk of encountering controversial wind-mills, Biscayans, or
Crowderos ; and truth when found, may, like Mademoiselle. Cun6gonde,
prove less attractive than had been anticipated. All that can be done
discreetly is to knock an error on the head when met privately ; and it
may be accomplished with the less scruple on this occasion, as the
present is, so far as I know, the only one into which the late Captain
Herbert has fallen. I allude to his Geological Map of our Himalayan
Provinces, where Shallee is included in the micaceous slate district;
whereas it is in fact, one great mass of very compact, splintery, light-blue
Hmestone, apparently very pure, with the exception of a small proportion
of magnesia. Several plants will be found, which are, I think, peculiar
to limestone, as Cytisus flaccidus. The mountain is very deficient in
springs, and in the warm season is dependent for water on the pits
called " Jors," which is of so vile a quality, that all Hudor-men-ariston
men should carry up a supply from the Nawul stream.
October Srd. — To Simla. The distant view of the hospitable homes
of our countrymen identifies our feelings with those of the Mesopo-
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tamian soothsayer, and we adppt afiur off his exclamation-—' How goodly
are thy tents, O Jacob, &c/ but the nearer and beatific vision of the
bazaar and its brimful stores, exalts our enthusiasm to the pitch of the
wizard of the north, and we end our pilgrimage by a gastronomic ap-
plication of his famous lines. — ' Breathes there the man, &c.' Those
heaps of flour and Shajehanpoor sugar are worth more than the purest
cones of snow in the frosty Caucasus ; those gram-fed fleeces than its
shaggiest woods; those cases of aqua-vitae, more soul-satisfying than its
loudest water-falls. Rapt into future dinners, the Deotahs of the un-
friendly rocks and snows of Emaus descend to insipid nonentities in
comparison of Messrs. Barrett and Company, who are confessed the true
dispensers of the good things of this life to all who can pay for them
and to some who cannot.
Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar and the neighbouring Districts.
By Captain Thomas Hutton, of the Invalids, Mussoori ; with Notes
by Ed. Blyth, Curator of the Asiatic Society's Museum.
(Continued from Vol. XIV, p. 354 J
No. 20. The Wild Hog. These are plentiful among the high rushes
at the lower extremity of the Bolan Pass, where they conceal themselves
during the day, but issuing forth at night, they proceed to ravage the
cultivation around Dadur. They are also numerous in similar covers
on the Helmund and in Seistan around the lake.
They are hunted but not eaten. They do not appear to differ from
the common wild hog of the Upper Provinces of India.^'
%. In Mr. Gray's catalogue of the specimens of mammalia in the British Museum,
the "Indian wild boar" is styled Sus indicus: and Mr. Elliot had previously
pointed out the following differences between it and the European one. "The
Indian wild hog," remarks the latter naturalist, ** differs considerably from the Ger-
man. The head of the former is longer and more pointed, and the plane of the fore-
head straight, while it is concave in the European. The ears of the former are small
and pointed, in the latter large, and not so erect. The Indian is altogether a more
active-looking animal ; the German has a stronger heavier appearance. The same
differences are perceptible in the domesticated individuals of the two countries."
{Madr. Journ. No. XXV, 219.) Vide Curier's • Ossemens Fossiles*, pi. Ixi, for figures
of the skull of the European boar, but which would seem to have been taken from a
domestic individual.
In the Society's Museum are two very different forms of Indian wild boar skulb,
especially characterised apart by the contour of the vertex and occiput. In a particu-
T
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136 Ro9§k Notes on the Zoology of Candahtar. [No. 170.
I beard of an animal^ however, which had boeB killed near Waaher,
OB the frontier towards Herat, and at the death of ^riiich my informant
was present, which leads me to suppose (if the story be tme,) that the
*' Babaronssa" {Sua babmrouooa, Luin.)f or some alUed species, is an in*
habitant of those parts. My informant was one of the party who ae-
companied the Gandahar Sirdars as fieur as Washer, on their disastrons
expedition against Herat in the years 1838-9. He described the animal
as like a hog, with tusks and two homt on tho nose; now the Babaronssa,
according to Fred. Guvier, haa four tusks, two of which, by piercing
through the skin of the muzzle, give the animal the appearance des-
cribed by my informant. He declared, that it charged the party of
hunters and overthrew a horse, but was shot and speared before it could
do further injury. I have seen no spoils of the animal, and merely give
the story as I heard it, from one who, by the way, was found in other
respects, like most of his countrymen, to be an unblushing fobulist.'^
Wild hogs are plentiful in Scindh, and especially around Shikarpore.
No. 21. Hystrue cristata. Common Porcupine.
This animal is very abundant around Candahar and in the neigh-
bouring districts ; it hides in the deep fissures and caves which abound
in the limestone ranges that divide the valleys, and issuing forth at
night-foU, they commit sad havoc in the grain-fields and gardens. They
are entrapped in pit-falls^ and likewise shot. I once asked an Afghan if
he would eat one, and he replied with a start of astonishment-—'* toha,
larly fine fpecimsii, ttom Catftack, measuring fourteen inches and a kalf above, along
the mesial line to tip of nasal, and the lower tusks of which (withdrawn from their
sockets) measure seven inches and a half long following their curvature, the vertex
narrows posteriorly to an inch and three-eighths ; whereas, in another skuU of the
same length, or a trifle longer, with lower tusks measuring six inches and a quarter,
the vertex is two and a quarter across where narrowest, and the whole vertical aspect
of the cranium is broader and more convex. Where the latter specimen was obtained
1 cannot learn; but 1 have seen others like it from Bengal and Arracan.
Wild hpgs are very generally diffused throughout India, and they occur in the
Himalaya at all altitudes. Mr. Hodgson informs us that there are not any in Thibet;
but in the country of the Usbegs they would appear to be very numerous. Thus, Lieoft.
Wood, in his * Journey to the Source of the Oxus,' mentions that^** Descending the
eastern side of Junes Durrah, our march was. rendered less fatiguing by following
hog-tracks in the snow. So numerous are these animals, that they had trodden down
the snow as if a large flock of sheep had been driven over it." They are also <
in Persia, and in the countries eastward of the Bay of BengaL— Gur* As* Soc,
23. Possibly a species of PhachochiBrei.^Cur, As» Soc»
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1846.3 ^^9^ ^^^^ ^ ^^ Zochff of Candalur. 137
Ma, look at the animal'B feet ; do you not peroeiTe the iimilitnde to
your own ?" And be then proceeded serionsly to inform me, that onoe
upon a time, there lived a race of men so exceedingly wicked, that
God at length laid hit corse npon them and changed their forms to that
of the porcapine, oUiterating all trace of the human form divine, except
the feet, whidi were left to mark the accursed and fallen race, and to
serve as a warning to other evil doen. The hoUow ({oiUs which form
a tuft OB the tail, are said, by the marvel-loving vulgar, to be used for the
purpose of carrying a supply of water, but bow the animal is to make
use of tbe same is not stated ; their true use, however, appears to be to
give warning of approaching danger, and to alarm an assailant, as they
emit a loud rattling noise when shaken.-^" Sahee^' of Indm.'^
No. 22. lAlactapa acontivm, (Pallas): A. indica*^ Ghray, Jn. and
Moff. Nat. Hi8t. Vol. X, 362]. The Jerboa. This beautiful little animal
IS abundant over all the stony plains throughout the country, burrowing
deeply, and when unearthed, bounding away with most surprising agility
after the manner of the Kanganx). It was known throughout the
srmy by the name of the Kangaroo-rat. They are easily tamed, and
live happily enough in confinement if furnished with plenty of room to
leap about. They sleep all day, and so soundly, that they may be taken
from their cage and examined without awaking them, or at most they
vill half*open one eye in a drowsy manner for an instant, and immedi-
ately close it again in sleep. The Afghans call it " Khanee.** It retires
to its burrow about the end of October, and remains dormant till the
Mowing April when it throws off its lethargy and again comes forth.
It is doubtless the *' desert rat'* mentioned by my friend the late Cap-
tam Arthur Conolly, in his Overland Journey to India, (page 54, Vol. 1.)
No. 23. GerbiUus Indieue. The Indian Gerbil.««
M. Tke speeks tt Hffttritt, aa the genvs it mom tiMted, bm groafkly in nMd of eliici-
4atiiHi ; 1 am ol opiaiom, that several are at preaent confounded nnder S, crutata
and fl. lemcura, and 1 have been endeaivouriag for iome tiBM peat to odleet moro
ezteiMive data far determining thoae ef India. The AJj^haaiitan speeiet, aa figarad by
Bones, has aUack crest, and a nmcb longer tail than the trae €ri8te4a, or than either
of the Indian species with which 1 am at present aeqnainled, which latter sre at least
twe^ if not three, in number.— Clur. A»* See-
25. It cerlMftly does not occur in *< India. *'-**€lMr. As, See*
%, Twospecies of Indian Gerbib hare been indieated, but their distinctions are by no
meaos satisfactorily mndeout Mr. Waterhowe^ in Free. Zed. See. 1S38, p. 96, has
eadeavoured to characterise n O. Cmvkri, with tarse an inch and three-quarters long,
though smsUer th«a a; speeiman of O, muUous, in which tho tarse measured but one
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L^
138 Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar. [No. 170.
These beautiful field rats abound at Neemuch and about Muttra ; as
likewise in the sandy tracts north of the city of Bhawulpore, where the
country is absolutely riddled with their burrows. I think I have some-
whei^e read that they live singly, i. e. that each pair is found separately
and widely scattered over the pluns; but this is incorrect, for they
form large colonies like rabbits, and live in regular warrens wherever
they are located ; these colonies are usually situated in the neigh-
bourhood of cultivation, which suffers much injury from their depreda-
tions. It has also been said that they do not venture out in the day-
and a half. He remarkf, also, that **in the specimen of (?. mdicus, and that of
O, Cuvierif belonging to the Zoological Society's Museum, there is a considerable
difference in the colouring, the latter being paler, and of a much brighter hue than
the former; but whether this difference is constant," he adds, ** I am not aware."
Mr. J. B. Gray, in his * Catalogue of the Mammalia in the British Museum/ identifies
Mr. BUiot's G.intUcus of S. India {Madr, Journ. No. XXV, p. 211), with the 6.
nuUcus of Waterhouse, but applies to it the name Hardwickii ; reserving the appellation
indicus for some Bengal specimens presented by the late Major Gen. Hardwicke,
while he makes no allusion to 6. Cuvieri of Waterhouse, as if regarding this as a third
Indian species, not in the British Museum collection. Specimens from S. India, how-
ever, presented to this Society by Mr. Walter BUiot, of the Madras C. S., (who also sup-
plied the British Museum,) differ in not the slightest respect from at least one Gerbil
of Lower Bengal. Of two specimens of the latter, from the vicinity of Berhampore,
(for which the Society is indebted to the obliging exertions of my friends Capt.
Thomas, 39th N. !•, and Dr. Young,) and which accord in their general dimensions,
one has the tarse to end of claws fully an inch and three-quarters, the other but
an inch and five-eighths ; though the former is the more usual admeasurement in tha
full grown animal.
It would seem, however, that we have a second species in Lower Bengal, which 1
take to be 0» Cuvieri of Waterhouse, and the skull of which corresponds exactly with
that of Capt* Button's species, No. 24: having the auditory bulla considerably mor«
voluminous than in (?. indicus, and the incisive tusks larger and longer, and fronted
with much paler enamel. Long ago, as mentioned in Jour. As. Soe. XI. 890, 1 found
the remains of one of these animals in a paddy-field, half devoured by some carnivore:
of this I preservfd the skull, and what I could of the skin, with the tail and limbs ; but
I unluckily gave the fragment afterwards to some sMkarree who was to have endeavoured
to procure others, but of whom I never heard again. At that time I had no suspicion
of the existence of a second species of Bengal Gerbil, and it is only very recently that
I have succeeded in procuring Bengal specimens of the other.
Captain Button's species. No. 24, agrees so very nearly with the common Indian
Gerbil, that I can perceive no very satisfiEtctory external distinctions. The tarse,
however, to end of claws, of an adult male, barely exceeds an inch and a half long;
the general colour is also much paler, both of young and adults ; and the fur generally
is longer, especially that growing on the tail : the anterior limbs are either white, or
have but a faint tinge of colour; whereas the hue of the back is, I think, always toler-
ably deep on the fore-limbs of (?. indicus. The surface hue of the upper parts is of
that light arenaceous, so very prevalent among the animals of Scinde and Afghanistan,
as among those of Bgypt and other sandy and stony countries.— C^. As, Soe,
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1846.] Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar. 139
time, but this too is incorrect, for they may be seen the whole day
through, popping out of their holes, nibbling the long grasses, and
bounding off from hole to hole. This is the desert rat of Elphinstone's
Cabal. (See Introduction.)
No. 24. Gerlnilus [Cuvieri (?), Waterhouse.]'^ This species is plen^
tifiilly scattered over the arid and stony pbuns of Afghanistan, but they
do not form colonies like the last named. The Afghans call it " Juwee."
A full grown male specimen measured nine inches, and the tail seven
inches and a half, equal to sixteen inches and a half over all. This, like
the last, although perhaps strictly speaking nocturnal; is nevertheless ac-
tive during the day, popping occasionally out of its hole to feed. They
form no colony, but are numerously scattered in pairs over the plains.
No. 25. Gerbillus [erythroura, Ghray, An, and Mag. Nat, Hist, Vol.
X. 266]. This likewise is abundant over the same tracts as the last,
and goes by the same name ; it is more abundant around Quettah, while
the former affects the tracts around Candahar. All burrow in the
ground, and are seen during the day at times. The naUs of the feet in
this last are black, but in the former (No. 24) they are white or colour-
less in living specimens.
N. B. — You will see one specimen of Gerhillus distinguished by a X
on the enveloping papers. No. 25^. It is, I consider, the same as No. 25,
the black colour of the nails being, however, the consequence of death,
for in tlie living specimen they were colourless. Found in wide stony
plains with the habit of the last.*^
No. 26. Arvicola IMus Huttoni, Blyth.]^^ I am doubtful whether
27. Vide preceding note, No. 26.^ Cur. As, Soc,
28. I do not think that it differs from No. 25.-^CIur. As. Soc,
29. This belongs to a particular and very separable division of Mus, having much
the appearance and also the habits of Artieola, Among Indian species, it comprises
the Al. ffiganteus of Hardwicke, or great Bandicoot-rat, and the presumed Af. intU'
eus, Geoff, (v* Arvicola indica, Hardw., M, kok of Gray, and M. (Neotomaj prtmdens
of Mr. Elliot's catalogue.) The latter naturalist having expressed to me his intention
of appljring a particular name to this group, 1 shall not forestall him in so doing ; but
1 entirely agree with him in the propriety of the separation. Mr. Gray (in Af. N* H,
18S7, p. 585,) regards it as the typical form of Mus,
In size and proportions the present species bears a near resemblance to M. indicus
(v. kok), but the tail is shorter, and the general colour much lighter, resembling that
of the Gerbils. On comparison of the skulls, the zygomatic arch is seen to be conspi-
eaously broader anteriorly ; and the palate is much narrower, and contracts to the
front: but the most obvious distinction consists in all the teeth, both incisive tusks
and grindert, being considerably broader and stronger. In other respects the skulls of
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140 Rwgh Notes on the Zoolofy b/ Candahar. [No. 170.
tliu is A. uuHem of Hardwioke or not. It oocura south of Bhowolpore,
and is abundant in Afghanistan from Quettah to Oirishk, throwing op
the mould after the manner of the mole. It feeds on herbs and seed,
and burrows in the ground beneath hedge-rows and bushes, as well aa
along the banks of ditches. Its nest is deep-seated, and it constmcts so
many false galleries immediately below the surfaee, that it is diffi-
cult to find the true passage to its retreat, which dips down auddenly
from about the middle of the labyrinth above. In the gardens and along
the sides of water-courses in the fields at Candahar, their earth-heaps
are abundant.
No. 27. Mus [baetruMus, Blyth, n. mJ]^ This is the common house
mouse of Candahar, but the house rat is I believe unknown there ; at
least so all my informants agreed in stating, and I certainly never saw
one, although for two years I was in charge of extensive grain godowns,
which would naturally have attracted them had any existed.
No. 38. Lagomys Iru/eseene, Gray, An. (md Mag, Nat. HiH. X,
266.]"
these two species bear a very close resemblance. Length, minus the tail, about six
inches': the tail (vertebras) four: tarsus, with toes and claws, an inch and three-
eighths : ears posteriorly half an inch ; to anteal baa« lhree*qaarters of an inch.
Fur soft and fine, blackish for the larger basal half of the piles, the surface pale ra-
fescent-brown, deepest along the crown and back, pale below, and whitish on the
throat: whiskers small and fine, and chietfy black: tail naked: feet light brown :
incisive tusks buff-coloared, the enamel of tkia hue partially worn away on these ef the
upper Jaw.— Q«r. As, Soc,
30. This little animal presents a very close approximation to A/, musculus in size,
proportions, and structure, inclusive of the confonnatiott of the skull; but the fur is
much denser and longer, and its colouring absolutely resembles that of a pale specimen
of QerbiUus indicus^ except that there is no whitish about the eyes, nor ia the crown of
a deeper hue, and the tail is thinly clad with short pale hairs to the end. CoBspariaoa
of recent spacimens would probably elicit some further diatinctioas from M, muscuitu,
especially in the larger eye, and somewhat more predaced muaile ; but 1 eannet ve**
tare upon describing such differences from a single skin. The entire under-parts and
feet are white; and the upper parts light isabeliine, with dusky extreme tips to the
hairs, and their basal two-thirds deep ashy.— (^r. At. Soc,
31 , Length about six inehes : tanus to end of claws an iiach and tfatae-eighths. The
skull exhibits good specifieal differences from that of L, Hodffeoni, nobis, J. A. S.
X, 816; being in particular much narrower between the erbits. Mr. Gray, in his
« Catalogue ef Mammalia in the Bcitish Museum,' refeis L. H^djfsom to X. RtiyUi
with a mark of doubt; and alfcerwaiids seeoM to identify it with L, ntpelsfUM, Hodgson
— a very different species ; but the plates te accompany the descriptions of L. Btdf*
sami and L. nipaknsis were unfortunately transposed. L. r^tttem exhibits the same
sandy colouring so pievalent aneng the animals of Seinde and Afghanistan, and also
those of Egypt— C«r. A^ Soc.
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1846.] Bmigh Naie$ am tie Zooh99 of CmuMttr. 141
This species inhabits the rocks of A^hanistsu from the Bolan Pass,
where they were first sees, to Oirishk and elsewhere northerly. They
shelter beneath ledges of rock, and make their nests in the fissures,
where it is next to impoesttile to get at them; and althomgh I psid high
for all specinieas, and kq>t two men porposely to faring me the produc*
tions of the oottntry. I only succeeded in proenring two examples of this
animal, one of which escaped during the night; the other I send for
in^[)eetion. It is probably the " Coney" of Scriptore.^
No. 29. [MyotptiUs fiueoou^lbu; Qtarychmt fiueocainlluB, Blyth,
/. A. S, XI, 887.]^^ The Quettah Mole, ss it was commonly called, is
I think, a species of A$feia» ; it barrows like the mole, throwing oat
heaps of earth. It is difficult to dig out, and is said to make long
horizontal galleries, with earth-heaps thrown up at intervals. It pro-
bably feeds v^n bulbous roots with which the plains around Quettah
abound, such as red and yellow tulips, &c. I never saw or heard of the
animal except around Quettah in the valley of Shawl, about 6,600 feet
above the sea level, and I am indebted to the kindness of Lieutenant
Holroyd, 43rd Light Infantry, for the specimens which are sent for in-
spection.
No. 30. Lepus ? Hares are common all over the plains,
and I kept several tame ones at Candahar. I have, however, unfortunately
lost my notes, and have preserved no specimen. It is said by several
who have written upon Afghanistan, that there are two species, a large
and a small one. the latter somewhat like a rabbit. I cannot positively
deny the correctness of this assertion, although I have strong doubts on
the subject ; the small hares that I saw both at Quettah and Candahar,
being nothing more than immature specimens or leverets of the same
i^iecies, and I suspect that observers have mistaken the Lagomya for a
small hare, an error by no means of infrequent occurrence. They are
said to be remarkably strong and swift m some parts of the country,
and the dog that can catch one single-handed, is reckoned a good one.
Having neither notes nor specimens to refer to, I cannot pronounce upon
the species, though it appears from memory to correspond with the
32. The ** Coney" of our Englifh version is, beyond doubt, the Hyrtut syrktcut,
! Bchreber.*- Cur. As^ Soe.
\ 33. This type differs from Myodes^ or the Lemminjjf genns, in the much greater size
and strength of the feet, in the elongation and protrusion of its upper incisive tusks,
&c. I will describe it more particularly with some other new rodents.— >Ctir. ds, Soe,
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142 Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar. [No. 170.
common hare of the Deyra Dhoon. [L. rufictmdaius. Is. Oeoff.] This,
however, is conjecture. " Khor-gosli/' i. e. Ass^eared.^
No. 31. — Bo8 6«Wt».— The Buffido is scarce and does not occnr
wild ; the few that are kept are evidently from the east of the Indus, and
are precisely the same as the domestic bnffido of the Bha^ulpore conn-
try, where they occur in immense herds along the bankfe of the Ghurra.
There they are kept for the sake of the milk and ghee, and during the
heat of the day they forsake the jungles and repair to the river, where
they immerse themselves in the water, leaving only the head on the sur-
face. I know not if it be the same as the Mysore bufiiEdo, but it differs
greatly in its horns from those commonly met with in our Provinces.
They are of large size, chiefly black, sometimes with a white forehead
and white tip to the tail, which reaches to the fetlock, hairy on the
neck and shoulders ; withers not raised above the rump. Some are dun-
coloured, and among these, also, the white forehead is occasionally seen.
Irides often white ; forehead prominent ; the horns in all curving up
strongly and closely from the base, and forming a curl at the side of the
head instead of lying back along the neck, as in those of the Provinces.
The only domestic buffaloes that I saw in Afghanistan were a few kept
at Candahar, for the sake ol the milk and ghee.^^
34. From the skull of an immature specimen of the Afghan Hare in Capt. Hutton's
collection, it is easy to perceive that the species differs from the northern Indian one :
as is especially shewn by the greatly diminished horizontal elongation of the descend-
ing angle of the lower jaw, by the difference of the condyle, &c. It is only within
a comparatively recent period that the common hare of Bengal and of the Upper Pro-
vinces has been recognised as a peculiar species by Zoologists. According to the ob-
servation of Mr. Vigne, it is remarkable that there are no hares in Kashmir. "One
of the most singular facts connected with the natural history of the valley," writes
that gentleman, <* is that of there being no hares there. As a sportsman, I could not
have believed it to be the case, as I have nowhere seen more likely ground. I am
assured that they do not exist there, and I have never seen one myself, although I
have traversed every quarter of the valley. It is probably too cold for the Indian
hare ; and that of the valleys of Thibet is an Alpine hare [L» oistoius, Hodgson,
V. iibetanuSt Waterhouse,] that has its dwelling amongst rocks, sand, and Taitarian
furze. 1 should think that the European hare would thrive very well there."— Cter.
As. Soc.
35. The above description applies better to the tame buffaloes of Italy and Hun-
gary, than to those ordinarily met with in India ; the former having besides a longer
tail, and they are very commonly more or less marked and splashed with white. A
skull of this race is figured in the * Ossemens Fossiles.* An Egyptian cow-buffalo
which I saw in London approached more to the degenerate tame Indian breed, and had
small, but elongated horns, similarly directed ; and the late Mr. John Stanislaus Bell,
(of * Vixen* celebrity,) who favoured me with some interesting particulars respecting
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1846.] Romgk Noiei on the Zoology of Candakar. 143
No. 32, fi. tmama.'^Tht Cow is a handsome animal, and generally
a good milcfaer ; this is doubtless owing in a great measure to the rioh
artificial pastures on whieh they feed; the hump is generally reduced to
an almost imperoeptihle rise at the withers, and in many it is not at all
presoAt. They are shoit-legged, and have good barrels, being altoge-
ther a fox more Buroptan*looking breed than any native cattle on this
aide of the Indus. They do not appear to give the same quantity ef
milk in India, unless well fed.
No. 33. B. p&ephagui.-^The Yak is seen to occur wild in the
Huzara ranges, but for this I cannot vouch ;'^ it has been said, by
more than one traveller^ also to occur wild in the higher parts of
Kunawur and Tartary, and Lieut. Smith is quoted by Mr. Qg^by as
having seen them wild on the confines of Bhootan; but these herds,
I suspect, were nothing more than the tame y^ks turned adrift, ac-
cording to the custom during the summer, and left to roam at hvge
until the winter sets in, when they are reclaimed and housed. The
same custom may probably prevail among the Huzarrahs, and so have
given rise to the tale of wild herds.^^ (Perhaps this is the " Gow^cohi*'
many of tke animalf of Circaasia, informed ma, that the Circaaiian bui&loet ** agree
with the Italian in their bombed forehead, maasive and ponderoui eonformation, and
also in the abundanoe of excellent milk afforded by the female* often for two yean ;
but the horns, especially those of the female, are very large, inolined backwards, mu<:h
curved, annnlated and serrated. The oommon aUitude ii that of the Indian buffalo,
with the head horiiontaUy held out; and the tail, with its terminal tuft, does not reach
mnoh more than half way to the ground. The young are of a dusky-brown colour;
but the full grown are almost invariably bUok, without a tpot of white. Their stature
fxeeeds conaiderabiy that of the largest British cattle.
U should have been premised, that I furnished Mr. Bell with tketches from life of
the Italian and common domestic Indian buffaloes, the principal distinctions of which
races 1' pointed out to him, and this drew his attention to the minuUie which he has
partifiuiamed. Certainly, the Italian tame buffalo is a very different looking animal
fiom that of Bengal, and the buffeilo of Afghanistan if evidently the same; but this
Circassian would seem identical with the ordinary (and wild) Indian race.^C't<r. 4^.
Soe,
36. My friend the late Sir ▲. fiumes replied to my inquiries on thif tubject* ** The
Yak is, i hear, wild in Pamir, or some animal very like it*"~T. H,
37. Various authors have mentioned wild Yaks, though some at least of them haf e
beea doubtlew misled by the circumstance mentioned by Captain HuUon, of the tame
herds being turned loose in summer upon the mountains. According to Lieut. Irwin,
** Yaks are found in a wild sUte on the Pamir, and on the upper parts of Budukhihun."
Mr. Vigae also informs us, that there are wild Yaks on the northern slope of the moun-
laina towanis Yarkund ;" and Timkowski mentions, that this species '* is found, both
wild and tame, in the western frontiers of China, in all Tangout and Thibet." So
Captain Broome assured me, that he heard of wild Yaks being seen about Hodok, aaid
lo be in herds, and exceedingly savage and dangeroui to travellers in the passes.
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144 Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar. [No. 170.
of the Persian physicians, also Gowzen; vide Cuvier's 'Synopsis Mam-
mahum.')
No. 34. To the Horses I paid no attention, but believe there is no
good breed proper to Afghanistan, or at least not in the neighbourhood
of Candahar ; all coming from other countries, as Herat, Toorkistan, &c.
No. 35. Asset are as common at Candahar as elsewhere, and do not
differ from their brethren of other more civilised countries ; they aie
used as beasts of burthen, and have no more mercy shown to them than
elsewhere.
Of the many notices I have seen of the habits of this animal, one of the moat
interesting is that given by Lient. Wood. *' The Yak/* he remarks, ** is to the inha-
bitants of Thibet, and Pamir, what the Rein-deer is to the Laplander of Northern
Europe. Like the Elephant, he possesses a wonderful knowledge of what will bear
his weight If travellers are at fault, one of these animals is driven before them,
and it is said, that he avoids the hidden depths and chasms with admirable sagacity.
His footing is sure. Should a fall of snow close a mountain pass to man and hone, a
score of yaks driven ahead answer the purpose of pioneers, and make, as my informant
expressed it, a * king's highway.' In this case, however, the snow must have recent-
ly fallen, for when its surface is frozen over and its depth considerable, no animal can
force its way through it. Other cattle require the provident care of man to subsist
them through the winter; but the Kash^gow is left entirely to itself. He frequents
the mountain slopes and their level summits. Wherever the mercury does not rise
above zero, is a climate for the yak. If the snow on the elevated flats lies too deep
for him to cross the herbage, he rolls himself down the slopes, and eats his way up
again. When arrived at the top he performs a second somerset, and completes hit
meal as he displays another groove of snow in his second ascent The heat of summer
sends this animal to what is termed the old ice, that is to the regions of eternal snow;
the calf .being retained below as a pledge for the mother returning, in which she never
fails.* * * The Kash-gows are gregarious, and set the wolves, which here abound,
at defiance. Their hair is dipt once a year in the spring. The tail is the well
known ehowry of Hindoostan ; but in this country, its strong, wiry, and pliant hair,
is made into ropes, which, for strength, do not yield to those manufactured from hemp.
The hair of the body is woven into mats, and also into a strong fabric, which makes
excellent riding trowsers. The milk of the yak is richer than that of the common oow,
though the quantity it yields is less."
It is a very prevalent opinion, that the Yak has never yet been taken alive to Europe.
But Captain Turner long ago stated,—-** 1 had the satisfaction to send two of this
species to Mr. Warren Hastings, after he left India, and to hear that one reached
England alive. This, which was a bull, remained for some time after he landed in a
torpid and languid state, till his constitution had in some degree assimilated to the
climate, [or had got over the effects of the long voyage,] when he recovered at once,
both in health and vigour : he afterwards became the sire of many calves, which all
died without reproducing, except one,^a cow, which bore a calf by an Indian bull.
Though naturally not intractable in temper, yet soured by the impatient and inju-
dicious treatment of his attendants, during a long voyage, it soon became dangerous to
suffer this bull to range at liberty abroad, for which reason, after destroying a valuable
horse, he was finally secured alone.".— CWr. At. Sec*
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1646.} Roufh Notes on the Zoology of Candahar. 145
Dozens of these aQimals are driven into Candahar every morning dar-
ing the fmit season, each carrjring a pair of panniers loaded with grapes,
figs, pears, peaches, apricots, nectarines, plums, cherries, green-gages,
and melons. Latterly, also, from the difficulty and expense of procuring
cameb for commissariat purposes, we used to hire asses, and found
them to be quick travellers, under loads of. two puckah maunds each,
(160ft8). The Bokhara breed is very large and often white. These
animals are subject to swellings or tumours in the throat, from which
secretions of lime are extracted, often as large as a pigeon's egg^ and
formed similar to the gravel stones in the human bladder. I send one
for analysis.'^
No.. 36. Mules are good, and often high-priced, especially riding
mules, which sometimes seU from 250 to 300 Go's. Rs. each. I do not
think any are bred in Afghanistan, but suspect they come from Mooltan
and the Punjab.
No. 37. Equus hemiomu. The Oorkhur, or wild. Ass, I never saw, but
it occurs in the southern deserts, and in Ghirmsail ; also in the neighbour-
hood of Herat and in Persia. It is difficult to capture alive. They occur
also in Cutchee and in Ouzerat. I heard a Bombay Engineer Officer
state as a fact, which he backed moreover by the authority of Capt.
Harris, of the same Presidency, (Author of ' African wild Sports') that
stallions of the wild ass were very seldom met with, and the reason
assigned was, that as soon as the young one was bom, the old sttUlion
immediately castrated it with his teeth! ! This very marvellous story
was evidently believed by the gentleman from whom I heard it, but I
strongly suspect that if it really originated with Captain Harris, that
Officer must have been quizzing. One very simple reason against the
38. Of this, Mr. Laidlay has favoured me with the following report :—
** The calculus submitted for examination weighed 237 grains, and had a specific
gravity of 1.81. Exactly in its centre was found what appears to be the husk of some
grain, (paddy ?) which served as a nucleus around which the chalky deposit accreted
in concentric layers. Its composition is
Carbonate of lime, • • • ^ • • • • 89'0
Carbonate of magnesia, 1 *9
Phosphate of lime, 1*6
Animal matter (mucus and albumen,) .. 7*5
100*0
Corresponding with the ordinary composition of salivary concretions.*'— Gmt*. Am, Soc.
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146 Rwgh Noh$ en the ZO0IO fy 9/ CkifUhhar. [No. 170.
trath of the »t)ory ariMS from the fact» that in newly bora ammalB* the
testiclee are not apparent, nor do thej drop for some time after their
birth; nor is it at all likely that tiie fttallion is in attendance as accoa*-
dieur, for the female knowing the propensity of the male to attack her
offspring, would assuredly take Ite necessary precaution to prevent it.
Besides, if this be the rule, the continuance of the race of wild aneB»
mast be altogether fortuitous ! The story speaks ft^r itself ; but I men-
tiou it as iUttStrative of what people, and clever people too» will swallow
frdm thd mou^ of one supposed to be an orwA:^ '* Ok&rkkm'" quere
from '* Ghora*' a horse, and '* Kkur,"m ass^ literaHy "Equus Asiaus/'
No. 38. Cervida. Of the true Deer there are none in the lower tracts
^ Afghanistan around Candahar, nor is there any cover for animals of
thin tribe, the whole country being a sucoeMioB of bare hills and arid
stony plains, with scarce a shrub of any kind larger than the camels
thora. I was once informed, that the Fallow deer occurred near Herat,
but acting on the hint and making every enquiry from competent
authorities, I failed to get th^ least ccmfirmation of the report, and
believe my informant had nefver seen the fallow deer even in Europe.^
it may not be amiss to eay a word here regarding the Hippelaphtts
of Aristotle, whidi Mr. Ogiiby has applied to tiie Nylghau (Partejr
jfdctia), I should not have ventured on the subject had not that gentle-
man pointed to the modern Punjab, as i^rsc^osie, which Aristotle gives
as tkt habitat of Hippekphus. Finding no other animal in the Punjab,
to which the description will apply* Mr» Ogiiby decided that the Nylghau
39. Aristotle, as quoted by Colonel Hamilton Smith, remarks of the common Ass,
that the more poweffol males thus attack t)ie weaker, ** Tandiu illtim perteqauntai'
donee aiseeuti ore int^r poBteiiora crura tuserto testicuies ^vs e?tU«it.*' And isr this
reason, observes Colonel Smith, it is held dangerous to allow a male ass to pasture ia
the same field where there is a stallion. With the Ghorkhur, as with the Ass, the males
%ht with the teeth rather than with their hoofs ; nor are they the only animals which
evince a propensity fo¥ gelding their antagonist. Br. Bachman relates the same of
certain of the American Squirrels; tfnd 1 hare observed it in Shrews, fhers is sa
interesting notice somewhere in the * Asiiitic R«v^ew,' of a number of Qborkhuts takea
in pit-falls in Scinde or Guzerat; among which, I think it is remarked tibat not a siB|^e
entire male occurred. In a note to Vol. XI, p. 286, I expressed doubt respecting the
alleged identity of the ** Kyang*' of Tibet with the QkorkhMr; but the Society has
recently received (from 6. T. Lushington, Esq., of Almorah,) a nearly perfect skin of
a Kyang, which completely settles the question in the affinnatiTe«*^0<r. At. Soc.
40. There is a magnificent true Elaphoid stag in Persia, known as the Moral, of
which a pair were taken to England by Sir John McNeill, and deposited in the
Zoologtcal Gaidens.^Cter. As, SifC.
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1846.] Roufk Notes on the Zoology of CantUikar, 147
iiiiwt be the specks sUuded to. To this view of the ease, I hxw to
oSbt the folbwiog objections and suggestions ;
U^.— As regards tike country called *' ArfhoHa" it would appear
firom various sources, and among others from Professor Lassen,^' that
Arachosia was part of the country called ** Aritma," and situated in
that part of Afghainstan of which Candahar is the capital. Such being
the ease, it is at once evident* that the aninud alluded to by Aris^
tolie under the name of Hippelaphus, could not have been the Nyl*
gfara, inasmudi as that animal does not anywhere occur, within the
Ihaiti of A%haiU8tan, and hi all probabiUty it does not even cross
the Indus. The same remark will equally apply to the Saumer
deer of India, and indeed to all the deer tribe, as none of them, as
te as I could learn after two years' inquiry, are found in that part of
the country ."M It would seem proved, therefore, that neither the Saumer
■or the Nylghni can be the Hippelaphus of Aristotle. Mr. Ogilby says,
the name Hippelaphus is now applied to the Saumer, but in the English
' R^ne AramaU' t^e specific title of ** ArvUote&i*' is given to that animal.
It is «B yet undetermined, I beJieve, whether the Saumer and Jmrrew are
the same species or not, and until such is proved, the name of <' ArietoteUi"
mnit ap^y to the latter deer,'*'
4K JtQtttasl ▲«. Soo. BM^ftl, Nm* 86 and 101 paisiia.
42. The 'AradiMian Ox' of Aristotle ig, beyond doubt, the Bufialo.— CVr. A».
Soc,
4S. Vide Jtmrn, As. Soc. XI, 449, for some remaits on this subject, which further
ebserrattOB has confifsnd, as regards the distinctness of the * iurrow' (ۥ ArittoteUsJ,
the * Saumer* (C, hippelaphtu, Cuv.^, and the Malayan Busa (C. equinus. Cuv.J
The Jurrow is peculiar to the Himalaya, and iu antlers are always much larger, and
more ditergent than in theotheie; and the prongs composing their terminal fork are
generally about equal in length $ sometimes the inner and sometimes the outer, being
the longer. In the Saumer, which inhabits Bengal, Arracan, and the hill forests of
Peninsular India (it being doubtless also the Cingalese species), the antlers very
rarely, if ever, exceed two feet and a half in kngth, and are mudi less massive than
those of the Jurrow ; of the prongs of their terminal fork, the outer is usually the
longer. In the Malayan Husa, inhabiting the Malay Peninsula and Java, the con-
tiiryebtaitts; the iimer prong lieing nsaally much the longer, and the reverse of this
is observable in a still greater degree an the conuaon Axis or epotted deer« In addition
to series of each of the above in the Society's museum, are three pairs of antleis of a
Busa, now common in the Mauritius, and which nearly resemble those of the Malayan
C. tgMMisi^ but are remaricable for a strong sigmoid flicxsosily of the beam. There
are also two frontlets from Assam, which eeem to be referrible to the Saumer, having
the antlers unusually robust but short, and (as hi ordinary Saumer J much less diverg*
Mt than those of the Jurreit0.^Cur. As. Soc.
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148 Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahnr. [No. 170.
2Hd. — From Aristotle's description of the animal, and the habit
furnished by him, as well as from Mr. Ogilby's remarks thereon, I
would beg to suggest, that the Hippelaphiis is nothing more than the
** Copra €sgagru8**
I found this opinion on the following facts, namely : —
1«^.— Hippel8{^us inhabits the country of Arachosia, in which the
C 0igagru8 abounds, but where neitiier the Nylghau nor the Sammer
occurs.
2nd, — " The Hippelaphus," says the Qteek philosopher, *' has a mane
(like a horse) above the shoulders, but from this to the head, along the
top of the neck, it is very thin; it has likewise a beard on the hrynM;
it is about the size of a stag— the female has no horns — thone of the
male resemble the horns of the Dorcas (Gagella dorcasj : — ^it inhabits
Arachosia." (Royle's Him. Bot., Mamm., p. 74.) Now a reference
to the figure of C ^ogrus given in the * Calcutta Journal of Natural
History,' No. 8, will show the nume and beard alluded to by Ariatode ;
in the figure, however, the hair on the shoulders or withers.is not repre-
sented long enough, nor so thick as in the living animal. This animd
therefore possesses precisely such a mane as Aristotle describes, it bong
longest on the shoulder and growing thinner and shorter towards the
head : it has likewise a long and bushy beard depending from the throat.
Mr. Ogilby, after declaring that it can be easily proved, that the
Dorcas is the OazeUe of Egypt, goes on to say that—'* Theodore Gaza,
himself a Greek, and the first translator of Aristotle, very properly ren-^
ders the word by Capra." Here then is a corroboration of my opinion,
for according to Aristotle and his first translator, the Hippelaphus inha-
bited Arachosia, i. e. Candahar ; it had a mane and beard ; so has C.
agagrus : it has horns like the Dorcas or goat ; C. agagrus is a
horned goat. The only dissimilitude is in the female having no horns,
whereas all the specimens I have seen of the female agagrus were
homed. Even this, however, is in a measure nullified by the statement
in the English RSgM Animal, that the female has " short or nio honu.*'
If, therefore, the horns are sometimes wanting, it may have been from a
hornless specimen that Aristotle's description was drawn up.
The Capra agagrus will consequently be found in every respect to
answer the description of Hippelaphus, both as to its appearance and
habitat ; while in the latter respect at least, neither the Portax picta nor
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1846.] Eougk Notes on the Zoology of Candahar. 149
any of the Riua tribe, can possibly agree, fornone of them occur across
the Indus or in Arachosia. The only wild ruminants that I could hear
of in the country, were C. mgugrus, C. megaeeroo (nobis), Qvw Vignei
(Blyth), Gazdia oubgutiurooa, and in Gutchee and Upper Scindh, west
of the Indus, the Cenms poremus, GoMelia Bemioitii, and G. Christiu
To none of these, with the exception of the first, can the description above
quoted vppLj ; and if it be rejected, then there remains no animal in
Arachosia to which we can refer that notice. In the ' Penny Cyclopae-
dia,' art. Ariana, we are informed that " Ariana was the general appel*
lation given by andent authors, subsequent to the age of Alexander the
Great, to the eastern portion of those countries which form the high-
land of Persia. According to Eratosthenes, Ariana was bounded on the
north by the Paropanmsus mountains, and their western continuation
as far as the CaspisB Fylse ; on the south by the great sea (the Indian
Ocean) ; on the east by therwer Indus ; and on the west by the chain of
bills which separate Parthyene from Media, and Karmania from Parai-
takene and Persis. Its shape is by Strabo compared to that of a paral-
lelogram, the dimensions of which, reckoned from the mouths of the
Indus to the Paropanmsus, he estimates at 12,000 or 13,000 stadia;
and in a straight line from the upper Indus to the Caspise Pylse, on the
authority of Eratosthenes, at 14,000 stadia; the length of the -southern
sea coast from the mouths of the Indus to the entrance of the Persian
Ghilf is stated at 12,900 stadia. The countries properly belonging to
Ariana are, according to Strabo, in the east, the Paroparmisadse, the
Arachoti, and Gtedroseni, along the Indus proceeding from north to
south ; the Drangse towards the west of the Arachoti and Gedroseni ;
the Arii towards the west of the Paroparmisade, but extending consi-
derably to the west and south, so as nearly to encompass the Drangse,
the Parthyaei west of the Arii, towards the Caspise Pylse ; and Karmania
to the south of the Parthyaei."
From this it becomes abundantly evident, that Mr. Ogilby is altoge-
ther wrong in placing the modem Punjab within the ancient Arachosia,
and consequently that his views with regard to the identity of Hippela*
phus and Porta* picta or Nylghau, are wholly inadmissible.
If therefore we reject the Capra egagrus ba Aristotle's Hippelaphus,
the matter is left in more doubt than ever, for there is now no other
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150 Rough Notes m the. Zoology of Candakar. [No. 170.
ruminant inhabiting Arachosia to- which his deseription can posaibly
apply.
No. 39. Cervttf porcimu/ Hog deer — Parah. Thia species occurs
abundantly in the preserves at Shikarpore, and is also found in the jangles
of the Bhawulpore territory. While returning to Ferozepore by water
from Sukkur, I saw a hog deer some miles below Ooeh^ suddenly spring
off the bank into the river» and strike out for the opposite shore ; short-
ly afterwards, the reason for this was apparent, as a common village dog
took the water at the same place in pursuit of the deer. The river was
here very broad, and must have been dose upon two miles across aa the
animals were steering ; the deer made good way, and kept well np
against the current, which was running strong ; the dog seemed tired
and was carried far down the stream, and while he was still struggling
in the middle of the river, the deer had gained the shore and galloped
off to the jungle. I did not see whether the dog got across or not, as a
turn in the river shut him out from view.
This animal does not occur in Afghanistan.
No. 40. The Nylghau-^-For/ajr picta. This is said to be found
in the northern poition of the Bhawulpore country. It is not found in
Afghanistan.
No. 41. Antilope certncopra— •Sarsinee, or Indian Antebpe. It is
said to occur in the northern portion of the Bhawulpore country, but
does not appear to cross the Indus, and none are found in Afghanistan.
It is common in the Upper Provinces of India and also at Neemuch. I
do not think that this species is an inhabitant of the countries west of
the Indus, and in Cutchee it appears to be replaced by the Gaxelim
Benmttii and G. Ckriatii, while again these two do not cross the moon*
tain barrier into Afghanistan, but are there represented by G. «ic6.
guiiurosa, which extends into Persia. If this conjecture be true, it is
probable that A, cora and arahica are distinct from A. Betimttii?
This is hazarded however as a mere surmise.
No. 42. Gazella ^f»M/^tt-^Ravine deer. Ooat-antelqie of Euro*
peans ; '* Chikara** of Neemuch ; Kalaeepee of Mahrattas. GtuteUa Co.
ra ? Antilope Arabiea ?
This species is abundant at Neemueh, where it roams over the wide
and sterile plains in small groups of five and six. The natives there oali
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1 846.] Rtmgh Note$ on the Zoology of Condakar. 151
it " Chikara" or " Shikara/' a name which is elsewhere applied to the
Four-horned Antelope. Tlie female has horns, but these are very short
and slender, and invariably crooked in growth ; they are blackish and
smooth, with alight indications of wrinkles at the base. The same spe-
cies likewise occurs in Gutchee, but does not pass the mountains into
Afghanistan.
No. 43. GozoUa Ckristii, Gray. — ^This species approaches very nearly
to the last named, and occurs in Gutchee also, but not in Afghanistan.
A fine specimen was brought to me at Dadur, and the skull was carefully
preserved and brought to this country with my other collections ; but
since my arrival at Mussoorie it has most unaccountably disappeared.^^
No. 44. Gagella st^ttwroBa.-^The Ahu. (N. B. The word " oAv,"
though applied to this species by the Afghans, is used only as a generic
term ; the specific name I cannot now remember, and my note is mislaid.)
Althou^ I have referred the Afghan Gazelle to G. tubgutturosa, still
I do so with diffidence, on account of the remarkable difference between
the horns of my specimens and the figure of a skull given in the English
'lUgne animal.' In that work the horns bend outwards at the tip, and
it is said in the text that such is their direction in the Persian Antiiope
tubgutturosa, I am strongly inclined to think, that the horns on the skuU
figured in the ' R^gne animal' have been transposed, namely, the right
horn on the left core, for if they were again changed they would exactly
represent the horns of the Afghan species. In my largest specimen the
horns are fourteen inches long measured over the curve; they have
twenty annulations, and are seven inches and a quarter apart at the tips,
which turn inwards and almost form a hook ; indeed, with the exception
of the above difference in the direction of the horns, the two animals
precisely correspond.^^ The Ahu of the Afghans is found from Quettah
to Candahar and Girishk, and it probably extends thence vik Herat into
Persia ; they are found in small flocks of six or seven, and roam over
the wide and sterile plains of Afghanistan, occasionally committing great
havoc in the grain-fields.
I do not know whether it extends upwards to Gabool, though such is
probably the case, as I heard of its occurrence near Ghuznee. In the
41 For Mme notice of thii species, vide XI, 452.— Cur. As, Soe,
45. The honu are those of a typical CfatfeUa, rather stout, and abruptly hooked in
It the tip.— G<r. As, Soc.
X
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152 Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar, [No. 170.
winter time they travel farther south, and skirt the sandy desert wl^ich
stretches along from the Sooliman ranges into Persia.^^
In the young males, the horns nearly touch at the apex in consequence
of their inward turn, but they afterwards separate and diverge as the
animal advances to maturity.
As regards the female, however, if mine be in reality the Persian
Gazelle, there is still greater difference between the Afghan species and
the published description in the English edition of Guvier's ' R6gne
Animal ;' for it is there stated, that ** the females have smaller horns,
and are destitute of lachrymary sinus and of tufts on the knees;"
In the Afghan Gazelle, on the contrary, the female is hornless ; she has
a lachrymary sinus as well as the male, and she has tufts at the knee,
although they are perhaps smaller than in the male. In all other res-
pects of marking, colour, &c. the description of Cuvier corresponds ^tfa
my specimens, which I can regard as none other than G. subguttttrosa,
and I conclude that some mistake must have led to the erroneous
account in the English 'R^gne Animal/ I am the more inclined to
believe this, since I find an equally glaring error regarding the '* GoraV'
(Kemas goralj, it being stated that the female is hornless and possessed
of only two mamnue, whereas she has horns (generally), and /ovr mamnue f
The Afghans have a mode of catching or destroying these animals
when they repair to a river to drink ; a net is erected along the bank of
the stream, and a single opening is left for the antelope to enter at ;
after satisfying their thirst the animals proceed to wander along the
stream, and the ambushed hunters springing up and securing the open-
ing or door way of the net, capture or kill the whole batch. The car-
case was often brought into the market at Candahar and sold.
No. 45. Ovis Vignei, ** Koh-i-doomba^' of the Afghans — O. cy-
eloceros, Hutton.
When I named this species, I was not aware that it had passed
through abler hiwds, but of course my trivial name must give place
to yours. I have nothing to add to my former account in the ' Calcutta
46. M. Meneiries remarks, that this animal ** is very common in winter on the vast
Steppes which border the Caspian sea, from Bakou to Koo; living in small troops,
which once a hundred and fifty paces fro^ the hunter, remain tranquil and fearless.
It is easily tamed, so that it may be suffered to run at large without danger of ioting
it"— CVir. Jj. Soc.
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1 846.] Rough Notts on the Zoology of Candakar. 153
Journal of Nat. Hist' The animal ia abundant throughout the
higher mountains of Afghanistan and is said to extend into Persia.^'
No. 46. OvU stoaiopgga — ^Var.^" Doomba." or broad-tailed sheep.
The domestic sheep of the Afghans are all DoomboM or '* broad-tails,
but the deFelopment of this singular feature is dependent apparently
upon climate and perhaps pasture, although certainly not to such an
extent as some h&ye supposed : for instance, Pallas ascribes it to the
prevalence of wormwood in the pastures, but if such be the cause the
feature should become lurger or smaller according as such pasture
abounded or decreased ; why then have the sheep around Shawl and
among the tribes which frequent the mountains of the Soolemaun range
a les9 development of fat than those sheep which are found around
Gandahar, for wormwood and saline soils abound there? why again
have the sheep of the Khyber Pass and Peshawur the broad tail, for
wormwood I am told does not occur there ? why have not the sheep of
Upper Kunawur and Hungrung in the Himalaya, the broad tail, for
wormwood ohounde there, and forms one of the chief plants in the
pasture of those elevated tracts ?
The 'SBroad-tailed Sheep,'' which is but a variety of the "Fat-
ramped" species, or " Oma 9ieatopyga,*\ occurs throughout hill and vale,
extending into Bokhara, Persia and Palestine ; it occurs also with some
modification in Africa and elsewhere. If the prevalence of wormwood
and saline pastures had the effect of producing the broad fat tail of this
breed, so ought they to have enlarged the tail of the wild race (Ovis
VigneiJ, and the Camels and other cattle which feed upon the same
pastures ; yet such is not the case.^^ Again, if the fat is engendered
by such causes, it should disappear gradually when the exciting cause
had ceased to operate, and by xemoving the 0. steatopgga to pastures
where neither wormwoo^d nor saline plants prevail, the singular enlarge*
47. There is a brief notice and very panable figure of thii species, taken from
an animal killed in the vicinity of Persepolis, in Lieut Alexander's * Travels from
India to England,' &c., p. 136 (1827): and I may take the present opportunity to
remark, that the Society is indebted to the obliging exertions of G. T. Lushington
Esq., of Almorah, for a noble specimen of the true Ovis amnum of Pallas, which is
quite distinct from O, moniana of N. America, and to which must be referred my
O. HodfftotUit founded on Mr. Hodgson's figure and description of the head and
horns of a young ram, since called by him O. amwumoides,-^Cur, As, Soe,
48. The fighting rams of India seem to me to be of a race descended from O.Fignei,
of which they preserve the crescent-horns and short tail. — Cur. As, Soc»
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ment of its tail should disappear and become as in other breeds. This
however is also not the case, for the doomba has long been tended in dif-
ferent parts of India and other countries without a reduction in the size
of the tail, which still continues enlarged as in the original stock. This
fact, therefore, goes directly to establish the 0. steatopyga as a dtMtmet
and original species, which has descended from none of the living stock,
whether domesticated or in a state of nature.^^ Let us examine the
grounds on which this opinion can be maintained. First, we find thai
sheep taken to the pastures of the broad*tails, do not gain an accession
of fat on the rump and tail, but remain precisely as they have always
been. Secondly, the broad-tails, when removed from their own pastures,
do not lose the singular feature from which they take their name.
Pasture, therefore, is clearly not the cause of this enlargement. Thirdly,
proofs may be given that the 0. steatopyga is the original breed ccm-*
fided to the care of men even from the dawning of hid abode on earth.
It is however contended, that all our domestic stock has sprung from
some one of the existing wild races, and as regards the Sheep, the
Musmon fO, musimonj is supposed to be the origin of our flocks.^^'— -
Now, if we are to attend strictly to the generic characters assigned by
naturalists to the Musmon and our Sheep, we shall at once perceive the
absurdity of assigning such an origin to the latter species, — for while all
accounts agree that the true Sheep possess " no lachrymal sinus" and
that they have an iaterdigital hale or sac ;" the Musmon has actually
been removed from the genus and ranked as a Goat by no less authority
than C. L. Bonaparte, the present prince of Canino, because that animal
does possess a lachrymal opening f^ and because it possesses no uUer*
digital hole !
If the absence of a lachrymary sinus in the domestic sheep were
true, which it is not, the want of it would prove that none of the wild
49. Certainly not an aboriginal race, but one highly altered by domestication.—
Cur. As. Sac*
50. Whether any long-tailed sheep, with horns describing more than a spiral circle,
could have descended from the orescent-horned and short- tailed O. fnusimon (which \b
closely allied to O. Vignei), is extremely doubtfuL^GKr. As. Soc.
51. The presence of a lachrymary opening proves, however, that it is not a Goat,
because that genus does not possess it. T. H.— If I mistake not, (writing from
memory,) the Prince of Canino states, that the tachrymary shuts is wanting in the
Moufflon, as it is certainly is in O. tragelaphus and O. nahoor; whereas I believe, all
sheep possess the interdigital sinus (an easy mode, by the way, of distinguishing a leg
of goat-mutton ^i^m one of mouton proprement di<).—Ct<r. As» Soc*
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1846.] Ra^h Notes on the Zoology of Candahar. 155
sheep known to us conld have furnished the original stock, for all of
them possess that character ;«-the assertion, however, that the genus
Ovis does not possess the lachrymal sinus is erroneous, for both the
broad-tails and every other domestic variety that I have seen, decidedly
possess ii ; it varies in size in different breeds, but I will venture to
assert that it will always be present. Still, notwithstanding the occur-
rence of a sinus both in the musmon and domestic sheep, the latter
must nevertheless be a distinct species, because it possesses a character
common to all sheep, but which in the musmon is wanting, namely, the
inteidigital opening sac.
Having given proof therefore that our domestic flocks have not been
derived from the musmon, I shall now endeavour to establish my third
porition, by proving that that the Ovis stemtopyga is a remnant of the ori-
ginal breed confided to man in the infancy of the world. I have already
said, that I am inclined to think the Ovis steatopyga, with its varieties,
as altogether distinct firom the races now living in a state of freedom,
and in this opinion I shall now attempt to trace back its origin from
the earliest to the present time, leaving it to others to form their own
conclusions from the facts here brought to their notice.
The earliest mention made of man's possessing flocks is in the 4th
Chapter of the Book of Genesis, where, at the 4th verse we are informed,
that Abel "brought of the firstlings of his flock," as an offering to the
Lord.
Since then, at this early period, a sufficient number of animals were
domesticated to enable man to offer up the daily sacrifices which it
appears was then the custom, and since, moreover, we know that the
animals were created especially for man's use and comfort, it is evident
that some of the more usefol races must have been placed from begin-
ning under his controul as domestic stock, for it is clearly impossible
that he could, by any exertions of liis own, have captured and subdued
a sufficient number of the wild mountain breeds, at the period alluded
to, to enable him to offer up such sacrifices.
In this case, such cattle would necessarily have descended from gene-
ration to generation, even to the period when Ood commanded Noah to
build the Ark, and they consequently formed part of the stock preserved
alive with him, and became the foundation of his domestic flocks after
the flood, and were diffused again with his descendants from the coun*
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try where the Ark rested. They were therefore part of the stock which
Abraham and Lot possessed, and which, after them, Jacob tended while
serving Laban for his daughter Rachel. This opinion seems moreover
to be well supported by the fact, that the general colour of the breed is
the same now as in that early period ; for we read that Jacob's lure was
to consist of all the ring-straked, speckled, and spotted among the goats«
and of all the brown among the sheep ; and it is easy therefore, without
the aid of a miracle, to see how his flocks inoreased while those of
Laban diminished ; since to this day, there are few domestic goats with-
out some speck or spot of white, and since the prevailing colour of the
Tymunnee broad-tailed sheep is brown of various shades !
It was indeed an arrangement well calculated then, as it would be
still, to enrich the one party and impoverish the other, and if we only
allow that Jacob was an observing shepherd, and had learned by expe-
rience that " Uke breed like" the secret of his great success is at once
made manifest.
With Jacob therefore and his sons, they were taken up into Egypt in
the time of the famine under Pharaoh's reign, when the land of Goshen
was allotted for a residence to the Israelites ; and of course, from thence
they accompanied that people throughout their wanderings into the
promised land, after the Exodus from Egypt, and from thence again they
became diffused through all the neighbouring states and kingdoms:
unless, indeed, as is most probably the case, they occurred there already,
as the nations which were then in the land had equally with the Israelites
descended from the Ark.^^
Now, that the sheep known to the Jews was the OvU steatopgga,
would seem to be amply proved from the 29th Chap, of Exodus, where,
at the 22d verse, in describing the manner of a certain sacrifice to be
offered up, it is written, " thou shall take of the ram the fat and the
rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above She Iwer,
and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right should-
er ; for it is a ram of consecration."
Here there is evidently a marked difference made between the fat of
the tail and the fat of the inwards and kidneys, for the words " the fat
52. So, Captain Hutton might also argue, are the aborigines of both Americat,
of Australia, Polynesia, and the countries generally to the E. and SB. of the Bay of
Bengal, in which latter Sheep have only recently been introduced, and are as yet pos-
sessed wholly by the European residents.«CiMr. As, Soc,
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1846.] Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar. 157
and the rump/' clearly show that they were distmct parts of the anima],
otherwise it would have heen written, " the fat of the rump.**
It is likewise held distinct from the fat of the other parts, as " the fat
of the inwards" and " the fat of the kidneys." Now it is a notorious
fact, that the fat here mentioned is literally all that the animal possesses,
unless kept up and fed with grain, which Asiatics never do ; so that the
passage reads " the fat tail and the rump," &c. We have consequentiy
a true description given us of the " Ovis iteatopyga" in which there is
" a solid mass of fat on the rump, which falls over in the place of a tail,
divided into two hemispheres^ which take the form of hips with a Uttie
button of a tail in the middle."^'
Again, all doubt upon the subject appears to be removed by a passage
in the dd Chap, of Leviticus, where, at the 7th and following verses, in
explaining the method to be adopted in "offering up a sacrifice for a
peace offering," it is written — "If he offer a lamb for his offering
then shall he offer it before the Lord. And he shall offer of the peace
offering an offering made by fire unto the Lord ; the fat thereof and
the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone ; and the fat
that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and
the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks,
and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away."
Here then it will be observed, that not only is the distinction between
the fat of the hinder parts, and of the inwards again repeated, but
we are instructed more particularly that the tail was the part alluded to,
since " the fat thereof and the whole rump," were to be taken " off hard
hg the backbone,** thus clearly pointing out the part where the feX allud-
ed to was situated, namely, in the rump and tail, which takes its origin
fit)m, or is a continuation of, the end of the backbone.
It must farther be remarked, that the word " and,** written in italics
in the Bible, does not occur in the original Hebrew, but has been add*
ed in the English translation in order to show the connection of the
words *' the fat thereof** with those of " the whole rump.** Therefore,
in the original, the passage would stand thus — " the fat thereof, the
whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone;** and that the fat
rump of the sheep is the part alluded to is clearly proved by the word
53. Nat. Library.
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158 Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar. [No. 170.
•* it " otherwise if " the fat thereof" and '• the whole rump" had been
separate parts, they would not have been specified in the singular num-
ber, by " it shall he take oflf," but by " them shall he take oflF." We
thus at once perceive, that the allusion is made to the peculiar formation
of the hinder parts of the "Ovis steatopyga," in which the fat of the rump
actually descends in two lobes on either side of the tail, which it so
completely envelopes as to leave only tiie tip of it apparent, and thus
while it coAtributes to form the broad tail which characterises the spe-
cies, it still remains likewise a part of the rump, commencing at the
end of, or ' hard by the backbone* as correctly alluded to in the above
passage of Leviticus.
Further evidence, if such were necessary, may be probably gathered
from other passages, such as that of the 15th Chapter of Samuel, where
the prophet in reproving Saul, declares to him, " behold, to obey is
better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the /at of rams** Now, since
the Asiatic sheep are notoriously devoid of fat, unless kept up and fed,
the repeated mention in the Scriptures of the fat of rams, would seem to
point most particularly and plainly to the species under consideration,
which thus becomes doubly interesting, as being not only an Ante-
diluvian species, but a descendant from the original stock bestowed upon
mankind by the Almighty in the earliest ages of man's existence upon
the earth, and as being moreover the animal which was used in the
ancient sacrifices of the Jewish people.
Thus we perceive, that so far from this animal having sprung from
any living wild breed, it is in all probability the most ancient of all
our sheep, and the stock from which the numberless domestic varieties
which now contribute to the comfort of mankind, have themselves
descended .^^
In the same manner it might be urged, that as from the earliest
periods after the fiood, we read in Scripture of camels, asses, oxen,
sheep, goats, pigeons and doves, being in a state of domestication,
a strong probability would seem to rise that all these species had been
reserved to himself by man from the period of the descent from the
54. Capt. Hutton has, at least, here shewn satisfactorily, the great historical anti-
quity of the Doomba race of domestic sheep, by proving it to be the variety (and it
would seem the only (variety, as to this day in Afghanistan,) tended by the Hebrew
Patriarchs, and familiarly referred to in the Mosaic writings.— Oir, As, Sac.
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1646.] Hough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar, 159
Ark, and therefore that none of them have now, in a state of freedom,
the original stock from which they sprung.
It should also be remembered, that if the animals at present distri-
buted over the earth, are all to be considered as honing descended from
the Ark, (which I deny,) we ought rather to seek among our domestic
breeds for the original stock from whence they have become diffused,
than that the converse should be the case ; for it can scarcely be sup-
posed with any show of reason, that man, who had once held every
species in captivity under his immediate controul, would have suffered
them to escape and roam over various quarters of the earth, until they
had become wild and difficult of approach, and that then he should have
turned, his attention to the means of recapturing and reducing them
again to subjection.— If, therefore, any of the existing wild breeds of
oxen, sheep, or goats are identical with our domestic species, (which is
not proved,) it should rather be supposed that the /ormer had descended
from the latter, and that they gained their freedom after the flood, when
the then existing families of men had selected from among them a suf-
ficient number to serve as the foundation of their domestic flocks and
herds.^^ But as the Scriptures declare, that only seven pairs of each of
these animals. were preserved alive, and as we read that some of each
kind were sacrificed by Noah on his descent from the Ark, it becomes
very improbable that any of them regained their freedom, and conse-
quently the domestic breeds of camels, goats, asses, oxen, sheep, and
some others have descended from stock which lived before the flood,
either wild or in a state of domestication. Therefore, we perceive that
neither can our domestic breeds be traced to any of the wild stock of
the present day, nor can the latter be traced from them ; and the wild
races are consequently distiact as species, and have been created since
the flood ; — of this however more will be said elsewhere.
The treatment of the flocks in Afghanistan appears in many respects
very similar to European methods. One ram is reckoned sufficient for
a flock of a hundred ewes. At the rutting season the ewes are kept
in ah enclosure and passed to the rams until all are served, the shep-
herd assisting in the operation by holding up the tail, without which it
55. The writer of the article * Sheep/ in the ' Penny Cyclopoedia,' alludes only to
the Moufflon and Argali (O. musimon and O. ammon^) among wild races; absolutely
stating of them, that ** They are descendants of those which have escaped from the do-
minion of man, and are retreating from desert to desert in proportion as the population*
of the country increases." ! ! \—Cur, At, Sac
Y
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160 Rmu^h Notes os the Zoology of Candahar. [No, 170.
is asserted the animala cannot consummate. When all have been passed
to the male in succession, the rams are tamed in with them, aad shoidd
any ewe have been passed oyer or not served, the ram detects her by
the scent. The runs sdected to serre afe fed np with bavley and
melon-rinds, and in the antiimn, which is ^e ratting season, they are
rendered furious with lust. Another mode of treating them is, to torn
tiie rams out with tiie locks in the autumn time, when those ewes
wlueh are ready f (»r the male will leave their food and fofiow him about,
upon observiDg which, the shepherd separates them and puts them to
the serving ram.
In the spring months, the young are yeaned at tlie very oeasen when
the grass is again springing up« Some fematos cobmt in heat after
yeaning, but they are never served then, beeanse the young would be
dropped at the «id of tite year when the grass is fading: when dw lambs
are bom, the mother is milked to prevent the laaib firom tasting the
first milk, which the Afghans reckon to be inguiious;*^ after this
the lambs are allowed to suck sparingly in the nmning and evening,
and after the tiiird day, they are att §ocked together during the day,
and only allowed access to the mothers at sucking-time ; the surplus
milk is manufactured into eroot and ghie, as cows' milk is not mack
esteemed by the Afghans. If the rains of winter have been plentifal
and the spring grass is in cwisequence abundant and rich, the lambs
are allowed to suck for four months, as the milk is good ; but if dm con-
trary has been tiie case, the lambs are taken up at three montha old,
in order that they may not weaken the mother.
I was informed by a person who possessed large iocks, and who had
ng reason to deceive me, that sometimes the tail of tiie Tymnmieft
doombas increased to such a size, that a cart or nnaU truck on
wheels was necessary to su^^rt the weight, and that without it the
animal could not wander about; he also declared that he had produced
tails in his flock which weighed twelve Tabreez-i-munds or forty-eight
seers puckah, equal to about 96fts. It has been remarked by CVed.
Cuvier, that the fiat of these tails, when zaelted, does not return on eool-
ing to the state of fat, and this assertum is a fact well known to the
Afghans, who sell and use it mixed with the ghee formed from milk-
Some objections were on this account offered to the ghee by our
sepahees, but their scraples soon vanished.
56. The reverse ia the opinion in Europe.—T. H.
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1846.] Ro¥gh Nates oh the Zoaiapf of Cmuiahar. 161
For purticiilani regarding the irool of these sheep, I must refer the
reader to a former papar» published in the Journal of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal, No. 99, and likewise to some very pertinent re-
marks by Dr. Griffith, in the 120th No. of the same Journal.*'
No. 47. Ckprm megaoeros^ (mihi. For remarks on this species, see
MeCMand's ' Journal Nat. Hist/) This I consider to be a true wild spe-
cies, and not an accidental race as you auf^pose. It is the " Markhore"
or aiiake*killer of the Afghans.*'
No. 48. Capra mgagrut : " Booz,** of the A%hans : Ibex, of writers
on Afghanistan.
I have nothing to add to my former notice of this animal in
McCleliand's ' Journal Nat. Hist:' the experiments, howerer, which I
was maldng on the cross between it and the domestic goat, have all failed
hitherto, in so far as the production of offspring, inter ee, is concerned.
I brought from Gandahar a half-bred female, the produce of a wild
female by a domestic male ; this female was again crossed by a tame
goat, and brought forth two fine male aniouds, by one of which she
subsequently had kids which lived and gnw up ; none of her offispring
however, have as yet bred inter ee, and most of them, together with
the half-bred mother, are now dead; I have still a few of the young
ones left, and shall notice any produce diat may occur from them. As
yet, however, we have gained nothing in regard to the opinion that the
mgagm is the original stock from which our domestic breeds have
57. Tkey are sometimes four or five- homed, but this is only an exception, not a
general role, as some accounts would have us believe. — T. H.
58. In my description of the spiral horns of this animal, Proc* Zool. Soc, 1840, p. 80,
I made a grand mistake in stating the spirature. to be inwardly directed, as in all spiral-
homed diomefitc goats ; the fact being, that in the Markhorty as in every other species
I know of, which has spiral horns in its natural wild state, (e. g> the Indian Antelope,
the Addax, Koodoo, and Caffrarian Impoof,) the twirl is in the opposite direction. Capt
Hiitton mistook my meaning in his remarks, {Cat, Joum, N. H* II, 541,) upon the
*' mward tendency, at least at the tips," which 1 mentioned as being almost invariably
observable in the endlessly diversified races of domestic goats; supposing that I intend-
ed the convergence generally observable towards the tips of the long arched horns of
the Buuority of wild Capr«,~a character of very trifling importance, even if constant,
which it is not. And I may here also remark on the subject of the Himalayan Ibex
( Capra sakeen, nobis), of which my notice was briefly commented upon by CapL Hutton,
that, in addition to the difierences which I indicated as distinguishing its horns from
those of the Swiss Ibex, the existence of a well developed beard (four inches long, in
the head of a young male in the Society's Museum,) affords a conspicuous differential
feature; for the beard of the Swiss Ibex is constantly reduced to the merest rudimentary
tuft, inch as would remain unnoticed if not specially looked for.—Ctir. As. Soc,
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sprung, but as far as experiments have been carried, strong doubts arise
in my mind as to the correctness of such a doctrine.'^
No. 49. Domestic goats. The domestic Goats of the Afgham are
chiefly long-haired, with an under-coat of fine soft dowxk They Tery
much resemble the Goats of the lower Himalaya and Kooloo, and ap-
pear to be a degenerate breed or perhaps variety of the true Shawl
Goat. The prevailing colour is black, or parti-coloured.
No. 50. Camelus dromedarius. The Dromedary or Arabian Camel.
'• Shootur'* of Persians, &c,«®
59 • Capra agagrus is stated by Menetries to be '* not uncommon on the Caucasian
Alps, seldom if ever descending below an elevation of 1000 feet, and then not in conse-
qaence of severe weather." It appean to be generally diffused over the mountains of
Persia and Asia Minor, and the adjoining regions of Western Tartary. The London
Zoological Society possess a fine specimen of it from the vicinity of Erzeroum. The
finest pair of horns of this species which I have seen, is in the British Museum. They
measure four feet and a quarter over the curvature, and diverge to sixteen inches
apart where widest, not very far from the extremity, the tips returning to fourteen
inches of each other : basal circumference nine inches ; and depth inside three and
three-quarters : they number ten years of growth. It is not usual, however, for this
species to exceed three feet and a half in the length of its horns, though these are not
unfrequently four inches, or even more, deep at the base.— Cur. As, Soc»
60. The two species of Camel are better denominated the one-humped and the two-
humped Camels, and the name * Dromedary' (from Spo^ac) ehould be restricted to
the swift-running breeds which occur of both of them. Hitherto, the Camel and Dro-
medary have been continually spoken of as distinct animals, sometimes the one, and
sometimes the other, bearing either name. Thus Burkhardt refers to the two- humped
species by the name dromedary, when he affirms that " the Armenian or Caramanian
camel is produced by a he-dromedary and a she Arab camel. The people of Anato-
lia," he adds, " keep their male dromedaries to breed with the females of the smaller
Arab race, which the Turkomans yearly bring to market, if left to breed among
themselves, the Caramanian camels produce a puny race, of little value." (* Travels
in Nubia,' p. ^2.) By the French writers more particularly, the one-humped species
(having indeed been termed C. Dromedarius by Linneeus,) is commonly styled the
Dromedary, as Capt. Button also designates it. The mixed race was long ago describ-
ed by Oleareus, as ** a hybrid between the male two-humped and female one-humped
camels. They are the most esteemed of all, so much so, that some sell (in Turkey) at
1,000 crowns a piece. They carry 900 or 1,000 weight, and are in a manner indefati-
gable. They are muzzled. The camels which come of these degenerate very much, and
are heavy and slow, being not worth more than 80 or 140 crowns." At Aleppo, the usual
price of one of these hybrids is double that of an Arab camel : they are extensively
employed in Turkey and Persia; and Sonniui observed a few in Bygpt, where they
are still rare. These hybrids are, I believe, always of the dark colour of the male, or
two-humped parent. The common Indian race, which is diffused hence westward to
Senegambia, appears to be constantly of a pale colour in this country ; and it is perhaps
only the Dromedary, or fleet race of it, which is occasionally variable in hue. Thus, in
Arabia, we are informed that a lady of Nadj a considers it a degradation to mount any
other than a black camel, while an Ozanian beauty prefers one that is grey or white. In
the continuation of Clapperton's Journey by Lander, we are told of the arrival of 50O
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1846. J Rotigh Notes on the Zoology o/Candahar. 163
The Camel with one hump is in use thronghout Afghanutan, but is
of a much more robust and compact tasrm than our Indian variety, and
weii aoited to die hilly regions it often has to traverse.
Nothing can be more erroneous, however, than the common belief
that the Camel is a hardy animal ; so opposed to this is the Afghan opi-
nion, that they used to exclaim with astonishment at the indifference
generally shown by us to the comfort of this useful creature. They
were often heard to say, " you take immense trouble, and incur great
expense in pampering your men and horses, but the camel is altogether
neglected, although if you wish him to thrive and do his work, you
must both feed him well, and clothe and house him too, in winter and in
wet weather." In every case where practicable, they acted up to this
advice themselves, and no sooner does an Afghan cafilah come to its
ground after a march, than the camels are seated round a heap of leaves,
straw or gram. With us, on the contrary, our poor brutes after wander-
ing along from four o'clock in the morning till two or three o'clock in
the afternoon, with heavy loads badly fixed upon their backs, no sooner
arrived in camp than they were turned out to pick up a morsel around
the tents over stoney plains, which produced scarcely any plants of suf-
ficient size to furnish a bite even for sheep, and after a couple of hours
passed in an ineffectual search for food, the starving brutes were driven
back to camp, and tethered for the night, in most instances without a
particle of grain or other food. What wonder then that dozens could
not rise beneath a load on the following morning, and were left to be
the prey of ravens or the prize of the almost as ravenous Afghan ! Let
those who prized their cattle, and made some efforts to clothe and feed
cameU laden with salt from the borders of the great desert, which " were preceded by
a party of Tuarick merchants, whose appearance was grand and imposing. They en-
tered all full trot, riding on handsome camels, some of them red and white, and others
black and white." (*Clapperton's' 2nd * Expedition,' p. 266.) These parti-coloured
individaaU remind us of the Peruvian Alpaca. In Arabia, and in all northern Africa,
much attention is bestowed upon regulating the propagation of the best sort of camels,
but especially of the lighter kinds or dromedaries,— termed Asharry and Mahairy^
in Barbary. *' Those of Oman," writes the late Lieut. Wellsted, ** enjoy a deserved
celebrity for strength and swiftness. Nejd is equally the nursery of the camel as of
the horse; but the Omary, in all ages, is celeorated in the songs of the Arabs as
producing the fleetest; their legs are more slender and straight; their eyes more pro-
minent and sparkling ; and their whole appearance denotes them to be of higher line-
age than the ordinary breed of the animal." ('Travels in Arabia,' II, 291.) The
smallness of the head is a conspicuous and characteristic feature of a true dromedary. —
Cur. As, Soc.
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them on the march, epeak as to tiie benefit they derived from their hu-
manity; camels thus cared for, ivere hron^t in safety and in health
from India, and again returned to it after marching through the coun-
try;, and passing through the first campaign.
Numbers of camels liiat were abandoned on the line of march every
morning, firom their inability to caxry a load, were afterwards hawked
about for sale by the country people who had housed, fed, and recoveied
them. This I know to be a faet, for being in the Shah's commissariat at
Candahar, I purchased several of them. That the animal is patient un-
der privations, and will endure to the death, is quite true ; but his con-
stitution is tender, and his power of endurance, unless well fed and
cared for, is not equal to that of the horse. Rest, food, and warmth, in
a word — comfort, is more necessary to the camel than to his cruel lord
and master.
The Dromedary of Central Asia difiers much in its external characters
from the animal domesticated in India. In the former we perceive a
shortness and a strength of limb, and bulk of carcase, which form a
marked contrast to the tall and stately " desert sheep" of India ; the one
is a short, thick-set, powerfully-made animal, well clothed with a thick
close curly hair, to protect it against the cold of winter ; the fore-arm
often enormously thick and muscular ; the hump rounded and comptet,
and on a ievel with which the crotm of the head is dmost immnMy ctur*
Tied.
The other is a taU, long-limbed, long-necked animal, which placed
beside its congener of Korassan, reduces the latter to a mere athletic
dwarf ; — the thick coat of hair is wanting or considerably reduced, and
the head is carried high above the hump. Yet notwithstanding the
marked dissimilarity in their general configuration, the two animals can
only be regarded as varieties of the same species, the differences observ-
able being, I think, solely attributable to climate, domestication, and
the different circumstances under which both individuals are placed. I
am aware, that in advocating the agency of climate and food, as the great
causes which have served to modify the species, I am in a measi^ re-
viving an exploded doctrine, yet I am not sure that absolute rejection of
the doctrine is altogether warranted or wise ; for Cuvier himself declares,
" that the wild herbivorous animals feel the influence of climate some-
what more extensively (than the camivoraj, because there is added to it
in their case, the influence of the food, which may happen to differ both
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1846.] Rmifk N^ies an the Zoohsf of CtuuMmr. 165
aft to qnantily and qmlit^f. Thus, the Elephants oi one forest are ofken
larger than tiiose of anotitier ; and their tusks are somewhat longer in
l^aces where tiieir food may happen to be more favourable for the pro*
duetion of ivory.' *
Now, piecisdy the same remarks will ai^ly to the camel, and while,
in a eoontry deficient in woody prodncticms, the animal is of small
stature, the very reverse is found to be the case in India, where the camel
browses entirely <m leaves and woody branches favourable to his grow^.
Every consideration tends to point ont to as, that the Indnn dromedary
is not in its original country, and that adapted as it is by nature for
existence in the dry and sandy plains of an arid region like Arabia, its
eccnrrence at all widiin the infiuence of the monsoons, is entirely to be
attributed to the agency of man, who has brought it with hun in a state
of d<Mneatication from the Postdiluvian focus of diffusion, across moun-
tains and Inroad rapid rivers, which in its natural state of freedom would
have formed insuperable barriers to its further progress eastward, than
the k«g range of mountains estending downwards from the great
mMrtiiom chain through Beloodustan even to ^e sea, forming a well-
worked natural boundary between India and the states of Central Asia.
The eamel of KcMTOssan is formed for grazing in a country where its
food is gathered from the grtnind, and where it has to perfwm long
journeys through mountain passes and defiles ; its shortness and strength
of Hmb are therefore well adapted to its mode of life, and the severity of
its dimate ; while on the other hand, the Indian variety ha^ng a range
of long and atsftoet interminablelevel country to travel over, where its chief
food consists of the leaves and tender branches of trees, has beccnne mo-
dified by domestication to meet the circumstances of its present condi*
tion, and ^ras its Hmbs are less powerfully built, its body less clothed
with hair, and its proportions adapted to reach tiie food by which the
enrage has been efifeeted, and in which it delights.
Much has been said regarding the existence or non-existence of this
smssal in a state of freedom, and as yet all tends to prove that neither
the camel nor the 'dromedary have been known wild smce the present
Ustorical era commeaced. It can scarcely be thought possible, that
animals of such magnitude as these, can be still living wild in henb
upon any country of the known eaith, and yet t^t they should have elud-
ed the reseasches of naturalists ;. for although it has been stated l^
61«. CiifieT*8 « Theory of tke eaiili.'
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166 Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candakar. [No. 170.
some of the older writers, that in their times the camel was found in the
regions of Tartary, yet as their accounts have been corroborated by no
later travellers, and as I feel assured, from information carefully collect-
ed during a two years' residence at Candahar, from traders to Bokhara
and other neighbouring states, that none are found wild in our days, it
is most, probable that the herds described as once existing in a state of
freedom within the modern era, were either as Cuvier has suggested,
individuals let loose from religious motives by the Calmucks, or that
they were troops of young or even fold animals, turned out to graze to-
gether in the breeding districts, as is the custom where pasture is
plentiful and the animal not required for immediate labour. This con-
jecture would more particularly apply to the two-humped or Bactnan
camel, which, from its constitution being suited more especially to the
cold regions of the northern Steppes, is unable to perform long journeys
southward during the heats of summer, and they may therefore be left
at that season to roam and feed in herds upon the plains of the Khozzak
country to the north of Bokhara, which appears to be the proper habitat
of the species, until the winter setting in again enables them to travel with
kafilahs of merchandise, into Russia and other states. It is very certain*
however, that if the camel seen by the old authors, or even by Mr. Trebeck,
in his tour to Ludak,^^ was on the Steppes of Tartary, it could have
been no other than the Bactrian species, for the Arabian camel would be
wholly unable to endure the rigours of the climate in those northern
latitudes. Balkh and Bokhara, appearing by all accounts to be the most
northern limit in which it can live, and even there it requires the great*
est care and the comfort of wai^ clothing and shelter, to enable it to
survive the cold of the winter months. Thus, after all, even if the
Bactrian camel could be proved to have been wild within the historical
era, we should still require proof that the dromedary had been so found,
and as all the arguments, hitherto have had reference to this last species,
we are still authorised in believing that it at least has never been
known to man in a state of natural freedom since the present order
of things commenced.
From strict and careful inquiries instituted during a two years' resi-
dence in Afghanistan, through traders of all classes who were in the
constant habit of travelling into the Tartar countries, as well as through
some Khuzzak camel drivers, I am unhesitatingly inclined to adopt the
62. Vide E;ditor's Note.— Journal As. Soc., No. F.
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1846.] Rm^gh Nates on the Zoohffy of Candahmr. 167
belief, fhat ndther the one nor fhe other camel exists wild at present,
or has done so since the flood of Noah. The late Sir A. Bumes, with
whom I corresponded on such subjects, replied to one of my last letters
as follows : "Caubul, 26th May, 1841. 1 have never seen or heard of
the camel being wild, nor do 1 credit the report if from Moorcroft ; but
that the animal, at some time or other, must have been, like all other ani-
mals, in a state of nature is dear, though certainly not in the historical
era : the natives all say the same/' lUs was written in answer to
repeated inquiries from me regarding the existence of wild camels in
the northern Steppes ; and Sir A. Bumes, after a careful examination of
all who were likdy to throw any light upon the subject. Came to the
only condusion that any one can arrive at, namdy, that ndther spedes
has been known to Postdihrnan man, in a state of freedom.
This species (C. dramedariusj is not only useful as a beast of burthen
to travd with merchandise, but yidds a soft and durable wool, which is
converted into doth. In tiie valley of Pisheen, I have likewise seen them
yoked together in the plough, and compelled to till the ground.
No. 5h Gsm^/tif iac^fiaiiiM.-*Two-humped camel. "Bagdad-i," of
A%hans.
This animal is too impatient of heat to undergo even the climate of
Candahar for more than a year or two. His true habitat is in the
Khuzzak country ; he is found in cafilahs which journey to the south,
but is not kept in Afghanistan. While this two-humped species cannot
undergo the heats of the south, the dromedary on the other hand can-
not endure the rigours of the north. To obviate the inconvenience which
might arise from this circumstance, the A^hans, or rather the tribes of
the northern Steppes, have produced a crossed breed between the two
animals, which is enormoudy powerful and of large stature. Its gene-
ral appearance varies according as the dam has been a camel or a dro-
medary, and it is asserted, that if the hybrid animal is bom in the
northern Steppes its constitution unfits it for a continued residence in a
hot country, whileon the other hand, if bom in a warm climate, it cannot
endure a great degree of cold. This circumstance is worth attending
to, since I heard of several persons, who were anxious to introduce the
hybrid into India, in order to strengthen our dromedaries. The cross
however, should be obtained from the camd and female dromedary,
and die produce be bom in our own provinces, if the assertion of the
Afghans is to be relied on. I do not think, however, that any good
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168 Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar. [No. 170.
would result from crossing our breed, which is admirably adapted to
the Indian climate and the work it has to perform, and we may perhaps
in this case, follow with advantage, the old adage of " Let well alone."
The species said to exist among the Kirguise, and supposed to be
distinct from the two forementioned species, is,' in all probability, nothing
more than the hybrid obtained from the camel and dromedary. I heard
of no instance of the hybrids breeding inter se, but at the same time I
do not consider the point decided, or even of consequence, either one
way or the other ; as the fact of hybrids breeding inter se cannot prove
identity of speciefs in the original parent stock, since I have more than once
obtained and reared offspring from hybrid birds, which offspring more-
over again bred inter se. Yet, notwithstanding this, the original species
were distinct, being the one a female canary, and the other a common
linnet. Such being the case, it must be evident that if the offspring of
the domestic goat and the wild segagrus were proved capable of breed*
ing inter se, it would not show that the wild and domestic breeds were
identical !
In respect to the stock from which the camels originally descended, I
hold the same opinions as those set forth in regard to the domestic
sheep and goats, namely, that they never had, during the historical era,
any wild representatives, the whole having been retained by man after
the exit from the Ark. The camels, therefore, like most others of our
domestic cattie, I hold to be species whose original stock perished in the
waters of the Noarchian deluge. These opinions will elsewhere lead me
to remark upon the habitats of the modem camels, with a view to as-
certain whether both could have spread from the focus of Postdiluvian
diffusion, or whether the country of Armenia be in reality the true resting
place of the Ark, a point on which I am inclined to be sceptical.
No. 52. Sdurus paltnarum. — The Palm Squirrel.
This littie animal is found in the Bhawulpore country, and extends
into the jungles of Cutchee as far as the borders of the " Putt,'* or de-
sert between Poojaun and Burshore. It does not appear to cross that
desert, and is not found in A%hani8tan.
P. S.— I think I may venture to say, that very few wild mammalia
occur below Ghuznee, which have not been here noticed, and those will
probably be small species.
In the northerly mountains of Cabul, &c. doubtiess many are found,
but as my personal observations were confined to the neighbourhood of
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1846.] R^h Notes on the Zoolo^ of Candahar 169
Candahar and the route to that city, I shall not venture further on the
subject. I do not think, however, that any large ruminants will be
found even there.
I will send you a notice of the birds collected also.
These notes are not arranged in order, but that you can easily rectify.
I have been obliged to write them for you as I could lay my hands on
my old memoranda, which hlive become confused. You are at liberty
to describe, and name any species that may appear new.
Thomas Button.
Additions and carrectUmt io former Notes, Fol, XIV, p. 340 et seq»
NoTB % p. 841.— With reference to the range of the Tiger on the Himalaya, I
should have quoted the Rev. R. Everest's paper * On the power of enduring cold in
the mammalia of hot coantries,' published in An, and Mag, Nat. Hist., VI II, 325.
•• The Tiger," remarks that gentleman, ** is very scarce in the Himalaya, even in sum-
mer time, being too large and unwieldy an animal to follow the caprine races over the
precipitous ground* I, however, met with their tracks on the snow near my house;
and while shooting in the oak-forest, from 5,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea, had one
of my people carried away by one* They can go wherever the [Jerrow {Cervus Arts-
totelis, ) ] can obtain a footing, and. remain on a mountain north of Mussoorie, ( Nagtiba,
near 10,000 feet in height,) all the year round. They live principally on stags and
also bears."
NoTB 6, p. 342.— Prof. Behn, of Kiel University, and now with the Danish expedi-
tion on board the Galathea, pronounces this to be distinct from the European Felis
sylvesiris. The state of the skin does not permit of a satisfactory description being
taken from it ; but it may be briefly characterised as of a light fulvous colour, mottled
or varied with blackish on the back, which colour forms somewhat large, transverse,
ill-defined stripes on the sides and limbs, and more distant spots on the under-partB :
the tail tapering, with five or six rings of black, and a black tip ; and the fur mode-
rately long and dense. Length about two feet, the tail a foot more. If new, F,
HuUoniy nobis.
NoTB 8, p. 343.—** The Afghan pointer," remarks the late Migor Brown, <* has
been long known, having occasionally been brought down for sale by the fruit-mer-
chants ; but they have never been considered equal to the English dog. In Afghanis-
tan they are called Boders, and are used for shooting pretty generally throughout that
country, including Cashmere. They have rather a coarse heavy appearance, and
the one now described resepibles a Beagle a good deal ; otherwise it has much the
appearance of an India-bred English pointer. The hair is smooth, of a red and white
colour : it stands short on the legs, with a large double dew-chiw on each hind-leg,
which has a very ugly appearance. Its ears are well hung but short; the breadth
at the forehead is great, but the muzzle small, and it has great natural courage. Ap-
parently it has never been broken in, and some large scars about the head testify that
it has fought some hard battles in its day." * Gunga,' in Bengal Sporting Magazine,
NoTB 15, p. 346. Mangusta palUpss. Since the note referred to was written, the
Society has received specimens of M, EdwardsU (apud Ogilby) ftrom Agra, which
render it extremely doubtful whether the Afghan species can be considered more than
a variety of the same : upon comparison of the skulls, however, the first false molar of
both jaws is much smaller in Afghan than in Bengal specimens. The last appear
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170 Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar. [No. 170.
always to be of a much darker and browner colour, resembling tliOBe from Nepal—
M. auropunctata of Hodgson, which name will, I believe, stand.
Notes 19 and 20, p. 352 el seq. Hedgehogs. The Indian species of this genus
are still much in need of investigation. Four have received names, as follow : —
1. S, coUaris, Gray : founded upon Gen* Hardwic]ie*s figure of a specimen obtained
in the * Dooab.' This is represented to have uniformly blackish spines, rather
large ears, which are greatly emarginated posteriorly, a blackish face, more rufous
chest, and a narrow band of pare white on the throat, commencing from the ear. In
Mr. Gray's recent catalogue of the mammalia in the British Museum, three specimens
referred to this animal are enumerated, one of them from Madras, presented by
Walter Elliot, Esq.
2. B. spatanguSf Bennet, Proc» Zool, Sac. 1832, p. 123.
S. S. Orayi, Bennet, ibid. p. 124. Both from the Himalaya, and referred ■* to that
extra European form of the genus BrmaceuSf which is distinguished by the possession
of large ears."
4. J7. mentaUSt Gray; "Black-chinned Hedgehog," from the Himalaya*~Seem«
ingly undescribed, being merely enumerated with the preceding three in Mr. Gray's
catalogue of the British Museum mammalia.
Capt. Hutton's No. 19, from Afghanistan, to which 1 gave the provisional name
megaloHSt would seem to approximate the E* spatangua; but the difference of sixe is
too great to admit of the probability of their being young and adult of the same, the
advanced dentition of Mr. Bennet's specimen leading him to suppose it ** probably
not fully adult, there being only two false molars on each side of the upper jaw." The
head and body of B» spatangus are given as but three inches and a quarter, t^l a ^
quarter of an inch, ears three inches and a quarter, and tarse to end of claws an
inch. Capt. Hutton's recent Afghan specimen is described as about a foot in length,
minus the tail, the latter measuring an inch and a half. (?) The example of it sent, it
about the size of a moderately large European Hedgehog, with great ovate ears, an
inch and a quarter long, and sevenoeighths in extreme breadth : tarse to end of dawe
an inch and a half, tail but five-eighths; entire length of skull, with projectiag upper
incisors, two inches and a quarter.
Of Capt. Hutton's No. 18, the first and second specimens mentioned by him are, I
suspect, rightly referred to S, coUaris: but his third specimen seems, from the dee-
cription, identical with one in the Society's museum, the locality of which is unknown,
and also with others from S. India, obligingly sent me on loan by Mr. Elliot, and to
which I suspect that Mr. Gray's * Madras' specimen (presented by Mr. Elliot>) and
probably the two others referred by him to S, eoUarig, likewise appertain. The
crania and dentition of an adult sent by Mr. Elliot, and that of the Society's specimen,
correspond exactly: but Capt* Button's skull of the Bhawulpore Hedgehog presents
some differences ; the general form is rather shorter and broader, it is more constricted
between the orbits, and the zygoms are considerably ipore projecting; the small
upper pre* molar anterior to the scissor-tooth is less minute ; and in the lower jaw, the
second lateral pair of incisors from the front are much smaller, as indeed are alto the
next or last pair of the true incisors. If new, I propose to call this species S» micro*
pus.
Another Asiatic hedgehog, additional also to S, auritus of Siberia, and BMriy
allied to the European species, is B. eoncohr, Martin. P. Z, 8» 1837, p* 103, dee-
cribed from a specimen received from Trebitond.—- Our. As. Soc.
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JOURNAL
ASIATIC SOCIETY.
CATALOGUE OF MAMMALIA.
Inhabiting the Malayan Peninsula and Islands,
Collected or observed by Theodore Cantor, M. D., Bengal
Medical Service.
\ ^ Localities printed in Italics signify those from whence the animals of the Cata-
! logos were obtained; in ordinary type those previously given by authors.
QUADRUMANA.
SiHIADJS.
Gun. — P1THECU8, Geoffroy,
PiTHBCus Sattbus, Geoffroy.
Stk. — Simla Satyrus, Linn^.
Simia Agrias, Schreber.
Singe de Wurmb, Audebert.
Papio Wurmbii, Latreille.
Pithecus Satyrus, Desmarest.
Simla Wurmbli, Kubl.
Drang Pandak, Raffles.
Simla Satyras, "^
Simla Abelil, \ apud Fisher.
Simia Wurmbii, J
No. 171. No. 87, New Sbbibs.
2 a
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172 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No 171.
Simla Satyrus» apud Ogilby.
Satyras rufus, Lesson.
Pithecus Satyrus, apud Martin.
Simia Satyrus, apud Schinz.
" O'rang U'tan" of the Malays.
Hab. — Borneo, Sumatra,
The physiognomy and the colour of the face exhibit a marked dif-
ference in living individuals from the two localities.*
Gbn. — Hylobatbs, llliger.
Hylobatbs Lar, Ogilby.
Syn. — Ghrand Gibbon, Buffon.
Homo Lar, Linn^, Mantiss.
Simia longimana, Schreber.
Simia longimana. Grand, et Petit Gibbon, Brxleb.
Simia Lar, Linn^ Syst.
Le Gibbon, Audebert.
Pithecus liar, Desmarest.
Simia albimana. Vigors and Horsfield.
Simia Lar, apud Fischer.
Hylobates Lar, Lesson, apud Martin.
Hylobates albimanus, apud Schinz.
'* Ungka ^tam" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
Siam, Burmah, Tenasserim.
Light- coLOTTBBD Var.
Syn.— Petit Gibbon, Buffon.
Simia Lar, 3. Linn^.
Pithecus variegatus, Geoff.
Pithecus variegatus, apud Kuhl.
Pithecus variegatus, apud Desmarest.
Hylobates variegatus, Ogilby.
Hylobates leuciscus, apud Cantor. Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist.
•* Ungka puti" and " Wow- wow" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
* An excellent likeness of a young male Bornean Orang Utan, living in my posses-
sion upwards of two years, has lately been taken by Mr. Thomam, one of the artists
of the scientific expedition on His Danish Majesty's Ship * Qalathea/
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1 846.] the Malayan Peninsula and Islands. 1 73
The colour Taiiea from blackish-brown to light«brown, yellowish or
dirty-white, sometiittes uniform, sometimes mottled. The index and
middle toes, of both or of one foot, are in some individuals, of whatever
sex or shade of colour, united by a broad web throughout the whole of
the first phalanx ; in some partially so, and in others not. The ribs
vary from twelve (7+5) to thirteen pairs (7+6,) as observed by Mr.
myth, (Journal Asiatic Society 1841, Vol. X. p. 839.)
Hylobatbs A6ILIS, F. Cuvicr.
Var. Ungka btam, Martin.
Stk. — Ungka etam, Raffles.
Oungka, Hylobates Lar, F. Guv.
Simia Lar, Vigors and Horsfield.
Hylobates Rafflesii, Geoff, apud Ogilby.
Hylobates variegatus, Miiller apud Schinz*.
" Ungka etam" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
^AB.— Malayan Peninsula, (Malacca, Purlis, KSddah, PUngah,)
Sumatra.
The first phalanges of the index and middle toe are in some individu-
als of either sex, partially or entirely united by a web. Sometimes the
first phalanx of the middle toe is partially united to the fourth.
An adult male examined, had thirteen pair of ribs (6+7), an adult
female fourteen, (7+7), a young male on the left side thirteen (7+6),
on the right twelve (7+5). In these three individuals the stomach
was constricted at the fundus and the pyloric part, which characters, when
compared with specimens of Hylobates agilis from Sumatra, will go far
to decide the identity of that species and H, Rqfflesii. On the Malayan
Peninsula, the latter appears to be less numerous than H. Lar, The
light-coloured Var. of H. agilis I have not seen.
Hylobates leuciscus, Kuhl.
Syw. — " Wou-wou," Camper.
Simia leucisca, Schreber.
Simia moloch, Audebert.
Pithecus cinereus, Latreille.
Pithecus leuciscus, Geoffrey.
Pithecus leuciscus, apud Desmarest.
* Schinz gives as a synonyme : Pithecus variegatuSy Geoff, which, however, is Hy-
lobates LaVy Var.
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174 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 171.
Simla leucisca, apud Fisher.
Hylobates leuciBCUS, apud Ogilby.
Hylobates leuciscus, apud Schinz.*
Hab.— J5onwo, ?
Java.
Gbn. — Sbmnofxthbcus, F. Cttv.
Sbmnofithbcus obscubus, Reid.
Syn. — Simla maora ? Lin. Lotong, apud Raffles.f
Semnopithecus leucomystax, Temm. in MSS.
Semnopithecus obscurus, apud Martin.
Fresbytes obscura, Gray, List of Mamm. B. M.
Semnopithecus sumatranus, Muller, apud Schinz.l
Semnopithecus halonifer, Cantor, Proceed. Linn. Soc.
*' L6tong" or " L6tong ^tam/' of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula, Pinang, Singapore,
District adjacent to Singapore, in the Malayan Peninsula.
Sbmnofithbcus albocinbbeus, Schinz.
Stn. — Cercopithecus albocinereus, Desmarest.
Simla albocinerea, Fiaher.
Semnopithecus dorsatus, (young) Waterhouse MSS.§ apud
Presbytes cinerea. Gray, List. [Martin.
Semnopithecus albimanus. Is. Geoff. ?
" Ka-ka" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula,
* Among the Syn. occurs Ungka putt. Raffles, which is Hylobates agtUs.
t The Hab. Pinang and Singapore, in neither of which islands Semnopithecus /e-
moralis appears to occur, tends to prove, that Sir S. Raffles did not, as it has been sup-
posed, refer to that species. His short description indicates ^. obscurus (Lotong.) the
most common species in both islands. Sir S. Raffles evidently did not describe the
living animal, or he would not have omitted one of the most striking characters, viz.
the white marks of the face, which, in preserved specimens, become obliterated, so that
the face appears uniformly black. The omission of this character by Sir S. Raffles,
and subsequently by later describers of this species, has given rise to confusion.
X Schinz repeats S.femoraliSf Martin, as a Syn. for^. sumatranus, and says in a
note, that MUller in his monograph of Semnopithecus refers that species to his S.
sumatranus (Schinz Syn. Mam. I. p. 39, note.) Were even the two identical, the
species should not have been renamed, as S. femoralis, Bortifield, not Martin, would
take precedence, being the denomination under which Dr. Horsfieid described it in
the Appendix to the Life of Sir T. Stanford Ri^jffleSt 1830.
§ Martin, p. 481, refers the young 5. dorsatus to S. femoralis, but the description
is that of the young of the present species.
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1846.] the Malayan Peninsula and Islands. 175
The young of this species, described by Martin, p. 48 1 , is from the pecu-
liar distribution of the colours, as easily distinguished from the young of
8. obseurus, as it is difficult to distinguish the adults of these two species.
Both attain. to the same size, hare in common the shape of the body,
the white marks of the fEu:e, and the general distribution of colours. In
the adult of the present species the prevailing colours are clear ashy-
grey above, and white below. On either parietal bone, the hairs form a
whorl, and the anterior are directed forward, projecting beyond the eye-
brows. The two whorls are distinct in the young, though the hairs of
the head are too short to mingle with the long, erect, divergent, black
hairs of the eyebrows. Just below the spot where the two whorls come
in contact, the skull is naked, thus forming a rather broad, triangular
forehead. The general colour of S. obscurus, both in the young and
adult state, is considerably darker. On the upper parts a blackish,
or brownish ash colour prevails, lighter below, which acquires in some
individuals a whitish appearance, from the white skin of the stomach,
which is but scantily covered with hairs. Of parietal whorls there is no
trace; the hairs of the head, directed backwards, originate in a peak as
far down as the glabella, and are smoothed down on the top of the head
from the occipital crest backward.
Semnofithecus cristatus, Horsfield.
SrN. — Simia cristata, Chingkau, Raffles.
Semnopithecus pruinosus, Desmarest.
Semnopithecus pruinosus, apud Lesson.
Semnopithecus cristatus, apud Martin.
Presbytes cristata, Gray :* List.
Semnopithecus cristatus, apud Schinz.''^
Hab. — Pinang, Malayan Peninsula,
Sumatra, Borneo, Banka.
The whitish colour round the eyes and the mouth is present, though
less distinct in this than in the preceding two species.
Semnopithecus femobalis, Horsfield.
Syn. — Semnopithecus chrysomelas, Muller, apud Martin and Schinz.
* Gray quotes S, maurus, Horsfield, and Schinz S. femoraiiSt Martin, as synonyms,
both of which are species, in physiognomy, colours, and, as far as S* maurus is con-
cerned, in habits distinctly different from the present one.
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176 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 171.
Hab. — PurUs (on the Malayan Peninsula. J
Borneo, Java (?), Sumatra (?).
In a young male of this, apparently everywhere difficultly procurable
species, the face during life was intense black, except the white-haired
lips and the chin, which were of a milk-white colour. In the preserved
specimen, the latter soon changed into the dull brownish-black of the
rest of the face. The interdigital membrane, often loosely connecting
the first phalanges of the four fingers and toes in S. obsettrus, alboci-
nereus, cristatus and other Malayan monkeys, was also present in this
individual, in which even the first and second phalanges of the index
and middle toe were thus connected. In preserved specimens, the in-
terdigital web becomes shrivelled and indistinct, and therefore, being at
all times a very questionable, if not altogether inadmissible, specific
character, ought in such state to be least relied upon. On its arrival at
Finang, the animal was in too sickly a state to allow of its natural habits
being observed.
Gbn, — Cbbcopithecus, apud OgUby*
Cercofithecvs CYK0M0L6US, Ogilby.
Syn. — Simia cynomolgus, Linn^.
Simia aygula, Linn6.
Simia attys, Schreber.
Macacus cynomolgus, Desmarest.
Simia fascicularis, Rafiies.
Cercocebus aygula, Geoff, apud Horsfield.
Macacus cynomolgus, apud Grray : List.
Macacus cynomolgus, apud Schinz.
" Kra" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab.— -Ptitan^, Malayan Peninsula.
Sumatra, Java, Banka, Borneo, Celebes, Timor, Tenasserim,
Nicobar Islands.
The first phalanges of the four fingers and toes, and in some in-
dividuals also the second phalanges of the toes, are united by a mem-
brane.
Gkn. — Papio, apud Ogilby.
Pafio nembstrinus, Ogilby.
Syn.-— Simia nemestrinus, Linn6.
Simia platypygos, Schreber.
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1846.] the Malayan Peninsula and Islands, 1 77
Simla fasca, Shaw.
Macacus nemestrinus, Desmarest.
Simia carpolegus. Raffles.
Macacos nemestrinus, apud Ghray, List.
Macacus nemestrinus, apud Schinz.
" Broh" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab.— Pinaii^, Malayan Peninsula.
Sumatra, Borneo.
The interdigital membrane of the first phalanges of the four fingers
and index, and middle toe, occurs also in this species.
LBMURIDiB.
Gbn. — Ntcticbbxts, Geoffrey.
Ntcticbbus tardigradus, Waterhouse, Cat. Zool. Soc.
Stk. — Lemur tardigradus, Linn^ apud Raffles.
Nycticebus bengalensis, Geoff.
Nycticebus jayanicus, Oeoff.
Loris tardigradus, Geoff.
Stenops javanicus. Van der Hoeven.
Stenops tardigradus, Wagner, apud Schinz.
" Kdkang" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Pinang, Malayan Peninsula.
Java, Siam, Tenasserim, Arracan, Bengal, Sylhet, Assam.
The sublingual appendage is cartilaginous, of a white colour ; the
apex divided in a number of fine points. The new-bom is of the same
colour as the adult, but paler, and has the dense, soft fur, mixed with
a number of long hairs, grey at the base, white at the point. In a male,
measuring from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail one foot
two and a half inches, the tail fi?e*e}ghths of an inch, the dimensions
of the intestinal canal, were :
Small Intestines, 3 feet i inches.
Large ditto, , . . . 2 „ SJ „
Caecum, 0 „ 3^ „
Gbn. — Galbofithbcus, Pallas.
Galbofithbcus Tbmminckii, Waterhouse.
Stn. — Lemur volans, Linn, apud Marsden and Raffles.
<* Kdbong" or " Ktirbong" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
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178 Catalogue of Mammaiia inhabiting [No. 171.
Hab. — Singapore, Pinang, and other Islands in the Straits of Malacca,
Lancavy Islands, Malayan Peninsula,
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Pelew Islands, Siam.
Two individuals are never of precisely the same design and ground-
colour, which latter varies from clear ashy-grey to greyish.brown or
chesnut. The white spots on the back of the anterior extremities,
appear to be constant in every age. Though there are four mamm»,
situated in pairs one above the other, close to the axilla, of a number of
females with young, none had more than one offspring, which was car-
ried wrapped in the wide mantle-like membrane. In several shot on
the hills at Pinang, the stomach contained vegetable matter, but no re-
mains of insects. In confinement, plantains constitute the favourite
food, but deprived of liberty the animal soon pines and dies. The ante-
rior margin of the broad smooth tongue has a fringed appearance, pro-
duced by a number of rounded papillae. In a male, measuring from the
apex of the nose to the root of the tail one foot four inches, the tail nine
inches, the intestinal canal was of the following dimensions :
Small Intestines, . . . . . . 4 feet 4 inches.
Large ditto 7 „ 7 „
Caecum, 0 » H ..
Costse verae seven pairs, spuriae six pairs.
CARNIVORA.
ChBIBOFT£BA.
Insbctivoba.
Gek. — Rhikopoma, Geoffroy,
Rhinofoma, Habdwickii, Gray.
Syn. — Vespertilio (Rhinopoma) Hardwickii, Elliot.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula,
Southern Mahratta country, Calcutta, Allahabad,* Agra,t
Mirzapore.
A single male, in no way differing from Bengal individuals, was ob-
tained by Captain Congalton, H. C. Steamer ' Diana,' in a cave on an
island in GKrbee river, in Latitude 8^ 0', on the Malayan Peninsula.
This species is provided with a true caecum, the existence of which
in all Cheiroptera has erroneously been denied, or restricted to the car-
* Numbers inhabit the subterraneous Hindoo place of worship within the Fort at
Allahabad.
t In the Tiy-Mahal.
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1846.] the Malayan Pmiiusula and Islamds. 179
diac csBCum observed in the genera Vampftus and Pterojnu. The pre-
sent species, and Megaderma spasvui, also possessing a tme csBciim,
thus present a higher organisation than has hitherto been attributed to
Cheiropt^a.
Length of the small Intestine 7^ inches.
large ditto, . . . . ]
„ „ caecum, .. .. Wj^g „
Gkn. — Mbqadbrma, Geofroy,
Mbgadbrma sfasma, Geofiroy.
Sth. — Vespertilio spasma, Schreber. '
Megaderma trifolium, Geoffroy.
Megaderma spasma, apud Fisher.
Megaderma spasma, apud Schinz.
Hab. — Pinang, Malayan Peninsula,
Singapore,, Java, Temate.
Incis.—r" Canin.- — - Molar, ■ ' ■-
4 1 — 1 O . 6
Length of the head and body . . . . 3-^ inches.
„ „ „ inter-femoral membrane, 1 inch.
Extent of the flying membrane, . . 14 inches.
The five caudal vertebrae project one quarter of an inch beyond the
pelvis, but are completely enveloped in the inter-femoral membrane, and
therefore not apparent. The inguinal warts are, as in the Rhinolophi,
most developed in the adult female. A true caecum, though smaller
than in Rhinopoma Hardwicku, is present in this species.
I Length of the small Intestines, 7 inches.
p „ „ large ditto, li*e inches.
: . „ „ caecum, Oig inches.
j Qbn. — Nyctinomus, Geoffroy,
j Nyctinomus tbnuis, Horsfield.
Snr.^Nyctinomus tenuis, apud Fisher.
Molosse gr^le, Temminck.
Dysopes tenuis, Schinz.
Hab.— Ma/ajfan Peninsula.
Java, Sumatra, Borneo.
2b
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180 Catalogue of Mammalia inhahiting [No. 171.
Two individuals had the back of a velyety snuff colour, becoming a
shade lighter on the under-parts. Entire length of the larger four
and four-eighth inches, of which the tail one and two-fourth inches.
Extent of the flying membrane ten and four-eighth inches. In the size
of the ears some difference exists in the two.
Gbn. — Taphozous, Geoffroy,
Taphozous mblanopooon, Temminck.
Stn. — Taphozous melanopogon, apud Schinz.
Hab. — Pulo-THkua, Pulo-Lancdvy, Malayan Peninsula,
Java, Caves of Kannera.
Temminck's description, as quoted by Schinz, is taken from the adult
male, the Malayan individuals of which differ in having the black beard
surrounded by a broad light-brown band, covering, like a pelerine, the
chest and shoulders. The rest of the lower parts are either white or
brownish- white. The flying membrane in the adult male is whitish ;
in the females and young males it is blackish or brownish between the
legs, along the sides of the body and the arms. The colour of the
female and young male is on the back of a more or less brownish
mouse-grey, becoming much lighter or whitish beneath, but both are
destitute of the black beard, which, out of a number of between forty
and fifty from different Malayan localities, occurred but in seven males,
although some of the beardless males in size and extent of flying mem-
brane equalled, or even slightly exceeded, the bearded. The entire
length of the largest male was four inches, of which the tail measured
one inch.
Extent of flying membrane fifteen and four-eighth inches.
x^ . . • . 0 ^ . 1—1 »^ , 4.4
Dentition: Incis. ^ Canm. = — - Molar, -— ^
4 1 — 1 O . 5
Taphozous saccolaimus, Temminck.
Syk. — Taphozous pulcher, Elliot MSS. apud Blyth.
Hab. — Pinang.
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, Southern India.
In two males captured at Pinang in houses in the valley, the colours
somewhat differ from Temminck's description, quoted by Schinz. In
the larger, the head and back are of a sooty black, with a few white
dashes, the lower parts of a pure white. The flying membrane ii Uack
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1846.] the Mokyan Pmimula and Islands. 181
between the legs, along the sides of the body and the arms, and between
the index, second and third fingers ; the rest being dull semi-transparent
white. The length from the apex of the nose to the posterior margin
of the inter-fen^oral margin, is four and seven-eighth inches, of which the
tail measures one inch. The extent of the flying membrane eighteen
inches. Dentition as in T. melanopogon. The smaller differs in having
the chest of a pale brownish- white, the abdomen and the pubes light rust-
coloured, leaving the sides pure white. Mr. Blyth quotes Taphogaus
pulcker, Elliot, from Southern India, as being " black-brown above with
white pencillings, and pure white below," (Journal As. Soc. XIII. 1844.
p. 492,) from which, as well as from Mr. Elliot's specimen, at present in
the Museum of the Asiatic Society, it appears that the Indian more
resemble the Malayan individuals than those of the Indian Archipelago,
described by Temminck. The internal surface of the gular sac secnretes,
an odorous oily fluid, of a light brown colour.
Gen. — Rhinolophtts, Geoffray,
Rhinolophus, Gray.
Rbinolofhus atfinis, Horsfield.
Hab. — Pinang.
Java.
Of two individuals, the male is reddish-brown above, light greyish-
brown beneath ; the female is above golden fulvous, which becomes
lighter on the lower parts.
4 7
Entire length of the male, . . 2^- inches — female, 2^ inches.
Tail, • • . • .... I* „ female, ^ „
2 4
Extent of flying membrane, . . 11 s* ** female, 12^ „
Incis. •- Canin. -H- Molar, ~^
4 1 — 1 0 . 6
The inguinal warts are highly developed in the female.
HiFPOsiDBBos, Gray.
A, Adult male with a frontal pore, with a tuft of rigid hairs.
HipposiDBBos DiADBMA, Gray ?
Stn. — Rhinolophus Diadema, GeoflEroy ?
Hab. — Pinang, Malayan Peninsula.
Timor.
The Malayan individuals are, according to age and sex, of a more or
lew int^ue reddish or greyish-brown above, under certain lights assum-
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182 Catalogue of Mammalia inbabUing [No. 171.
ing a golden lustre, owing to the whitish points of the hairs ; beneath,
they are of a lighter greyish-brown. IndiTiduals occur of a light golden*
brown, in colours resembling Rhinolophus larvatus, HorsfiekL In the
adult male, the livid flesh*(»loured nasal appendage is larger, more com*
plicated, and somewhat different from the figure given by Geoffroy
St. Hilaire, (Ann. du Museum XX, PI. 5 and 6), which resembles the
female in the simpler appendage and in the absence of the frontal pore.
The latter organ, in the adult male, is large, secreting a yellowish
brown oily fluid, the odour of which resembles that of Arctietis Bintu-
roTig, Fisher. A female, during lactation, presented a great inequality
in the development of the inguinal warts, of which the right measured
one-quarter of an inch in length. At the time of her capture, it wis
reported that a young one had been " sucking" the right wart. Not
having myself observed the young clinging to that organ, I cannot
vouch for the correctness of a statement which, if authentic, would tend
to explain the use, being to afford support to the young, when not suck-
ing. The size of the Malayan individuals appears to exceed those from
Timor, the entire length of the former being five and six-eighth inches,
of which the tail measures two inches. Extent of the flymg membrane
twenty-one and a half to twenty-two inches. The extremity of the 2nd
phalanx of the fourth and fifth fingers is bifid, or terminating with two
minute diverging joints, a structure also existing in the Malayan indivi*
duals of the following species.
Incis. ►- Canin. ; — - Molar, --^
4 1 — 1 5 . 0
HiFFpsiDERos NOBiLis, Gbray.
Syn. — Rhinolophus nobilis, Horsfield.
Rhinolophus nobilis, apud Fisher.
Rhinolophe fameux, Temminck.
Rhinolophus nobilis, apud Schinz.
Hab. — Pinang, Malayan Peninsula,
Java, Sumatra, Timor, Amboyna.
The frontal pore is less developed than in the former species, as com-
pared with which the present is of a more slender form, diough of
a size little less inferior. Entire length five and four-eighth inches, of
which the tait measures two and one-eighth inches. Extent of flying
membrane twenty-one and four eighth inches.. Dentition similar to that
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1846.] tie MOtofan Pemnsuia and Islands. 183
of H. Dimdema. In the valley of Pinang single indindnals of both
species are at night abroad at all seasons, but during the rains they
are particularly numerous.
Hiffosidbhos tulqabib, Gray.
Stk. — Rhinolophus vulgaris, Horsfield.
Rhinolophus insignis, Var. apud Temmiuck.
Rhinolophus insignis, Horsf. apud Schinz.
Rhinolophus vulgaris, HaiBf. female of insiguis, apud Schinz.*
Hab. — Pinang,
Java.
Entire length four inches, of which the tail measures one and three-
eighth ; extent of flying membrane fourteen inches.
Incis. -T- Canin. --^ Molar, — -^
* 1 — 1 O . 5
HiFFOSiDBRos MT7BINU8, Gray.
Stk. — Rhinolophus murinus, Elliot.
Hab. — Pinang.
Southern Mahratta Country, Nicobar Islands.
Entire length two and four-eighth inches, of which the tail measures
one inch. Extent of flying membrane nine and four-eighth inches.
Dentition similar to that of the last species.
B. Forehead simple.
HiPPOSinBBOS OALBRITUS, N. S.
H. prosthematis simplicis membrand transversa lat&, alt^ erectd, auri-
culas tangente ; auricularum, lat^ pyriformium, apicibus lacinid exsertis,
besse postico lobuloque basali villosis ; vellere longo, denso, mdli, bico-
lore ; supr& saturate, subtus pallidius-fusco-rufescenti.
Latet fsemina.
Hab.— -Pmao^.
Entire length three inches, of which the tail meaaures one inch. Extent
of the flying membrane ten and four-eighth inches.
T • 2 _, . 1-1 _^ , 4.4
Incis. — - Canin. - — - Mol. --— —
4 1 — 1 0 .6
The livid flesh-coloured nasal appendage is simple but large, occupy-
ing the whole upper part of the face and the forehead ; the horse-shoe or
* The only individttal of Rhinolophus mdgariSt Honfield, observed at Pinang, hap-
pened to be a male.
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184 Catalogue of Mammalia inhalnting [No. 171.
nasal disk covers the short, rounded, hairy muzzle, which has two leaves
on either side; the transversal membrane is concave, as broad and long u
the horizontal horse- shoe, which it joins under a right angle, while its
sides are almost in contact with the ears. The latter are sub-erect, broader
than long, their breadth equalling the length of the head ; the shape is
broad, pyriform, narrowing towards the apex, which appears like a small
artificially rounded flap, scarcely elevated above the level of the for co-
vering the vertex. More than two- thirds of the back of the ear is
covered with fur, leaving a narrow naked line along the external mar-
gin, which, as well as the singular shape of the ear itself, a£fords a dis-
tiuguishing character. The hairs are buff or whitish at the base, the
other half of their length brown. The general colour of the upper parts
is deep-brown, with a slight reddish hue, becoming a shade lighter be*
neath.
This species somewhat resembles Hippoiideros apiculatus, Gray fVeS'
pertilio speoris, Schneider, apud Schreber ; Rhinolophus speoris, Geof-
froy,) from which it however differs in the absence of the frontal pore,
in the shape of the ears, and in colours. A solitary male was captured
in the valley of Pinang.
Obn. — Vbsfbbtilio, Linn4,
Vjcsfebtiuo, Grray.
Vksfbbtilio advbbsus, Horsfield ?
Stn. — Vespertilio adversus, Fisher ?
Vespertilio adversus, Temminck ?
Vespertilio cineraceus, Blyth MSS.
Hab. — Pinang,
Java, Calcutta.
This bat having the characteristic distinction of the upper incisor,
described by Horsfield, is above greyish-brown, beneath light-greyish,
measuring in length three and two-bighth inches, of which the tail is
one and four-eighth inch. Extent of flying membrane ten and
four-eighth inches. It differs from V. adversus in having on each side
five molars, of which but two are spurious, which character also obtains
in F. cineraceue, Blyth MSS. and specimen in the Museum Asiatic
Society, which (as observed by Mr. Blyth,) as well as the present, may
prove varieties of V. adversus, Horsfield.
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1846.J the Malayan Penimaula and Islands, 185
KiBivouLA, Gray.
KiEivouLA PicTA, Gray.
Stk. — ^Vespertilio ternatanus, Seba ?
Vespertilio *pictus, Pallas, apud Horsfield.
Vespertilio kerivoula, Boddaert.
Vespertilio kerivoula, apud Geoffiroy.
Hab. — Pinang.
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Ceylon.
KiaiYouLA TENUIS, Ghray.
Syk. — ^Vespertilio tenuis, Temminck, apud Schinz.
Hab. — Pinang,
Java, Sumatra, Borneo.
A single male, in colours slightly differing from Temminck's, being
above of a dark greyish -brown, many of the hairs with white points;
beneath of a lighter shade. Entire length three and two-fourth inches,
of which the tail one and four-eighth inch. Extent of flying mem-
brane ten inches.
Incis. -r- Canin. , — - Mol. r-^
o 1 — 1 0.0
Trilatitus, Gray.
Tbilatitus Hobsfibldii, Gray.
Stn. — ^Vespertilio tralatitius, Horsfield.
Vespertilio Gartneri, Kuhl, apud Schinz.
Hab. — Pinang.
Java, Sumatra.
Scotophilus, Leach, apud Gray.
ScoTOPHiLus Tbmminckii, Gray,
Stn. — ^Vespertilio Temminckii, Horsfield.
Vespertilio Belangierii, Isid. Geoff.
Vespertilio noctulinus, Isid. Geoff.
Scotophilus castaneus. Gray.
Nycticeius Temminckii, Schinz.
Nycticeius Belangerii, Temminck, apud Schinz.
Nycticeius noctulinus, Temminck, apud Schinz.
" KUwah" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Singapore, Pinang, Malayan Peninsula and Islands.
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Timor, Pondicherry, Calcutta.
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186 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabitiMg [No. 171.
As observed by Schinz, this species is very variable in its colours
according to age^ all of which variations occur in individuals inhabiting
Pinang and the Malayan Peninsula. The following are the specific
names attributed to different individuals of this species : —
1. Vespertilio Temminckii, as originally described and figured in
Zoological Researches in Java, Back dark-brown; greyish-brown
underneath. Entire length four inches six lin., of which the tail one five-
eighth of an inch : Extent of flying membrane twelve inches.
2. Scotophilus castaneus. Gray.
3. Ngcticeius Belangeri, Temminck, apud Schinz. Hairs of the back
brown at the base, chesnut or olive-chesnut at the apex ; beneath
light yellowish-brown, Isabella or whitish. Entire length 3^" of which
the tail 1" 11"' Extent of flying membrane 13".
Incis. -r— Canin. ; — r Mol. --^
o I — 1 6 . &
4. Nycticeius noctulinus, Temminck, apud Schinz, is the very young.
Above more or less intense brown or rust-coloured ; beneath isabella or
light greyish-bx^)wn. Entire length three to three two-eighth inches,
of which the tail seven-eighth to one two-eighth of an inch. Extent of
flying membrane eight six* eighth to nine inches. In this state it has
frequently been observed clinging to the mother.
2—2 1—1 4 . 4
Incis. -^- Canin. , — ■ Mol. — -v
O 1 — 1 o . o
This species is exceedingly numerous, forming large congregations in
sheltered situations on the Malayan Peninsula, and in the caves on the
numerous islands of limestone which stud the shores from Maulmein to
Java, and in such localities large deposits of Ouano occur. The latter,
(" Ty Kldwah" of the Malays, i. e. bats' manure,) has been tried by
agriculturists at Pinang, but has been found much less efficacious than
the Guano obtained from the swift fCoUocaliaJ, producing the edible
nests.
Fbugivoba.
Gkn. — Ptebofus, Brisson.
Ptbbofus BnuLis, Geoffiroy.
Stn. — Pteropus javanicus, Desm. apud Horsfield.
Pteropus Edwardsii, Geoffroy.
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1846.] the Malayan Peninsula and Islands. 187
" Kalong" of the Javanese.
" Kldang" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Pinang, Singapore, Malayan Peninsula and Islands,
Java, Sumatra, Banda, Bengal, Assam.
Gbn. — Ctnoptbrtjs, Fred, Cuvier,
Ctnoftbbus maroinatus, F. Cuv.
Stn. — ^Vespertilio marginatus, Buchanan Hamilton, MSS.
Pteropus marginatus, Geo£froy.
Pteropus titthsecheilus, Temm.
Pachysoma titthsecheilus, Temm.
Pachysoma brevicaudatum, Is. Geoff.
Pteropus brevicaudatus, Schinz.
Pachysoma Diardii, Isid. Geoff.
Pteropus Diardii, Schinz.
Pachysoma Duvaucellii, Is. Geoff.
Pteropus pyrivorus, Hodgson, apud Gray.
Hab. — Singapore, Pinang, Malayan Peninsula and Islands,
Java, Sumatra, Southern Mahratta Country, Bengal, Nipal.
The colour is very variable, not only individually, but according to
age and sex, which has given rise to several supposed distinct species.
Bat they all resemble each other in habits and dentition, they occupy
one common place of rest, and their new-born, or very young, are of a
umform colour. The ears of the adult are, in all, more or less distinctly
margined with white.
1. Cynopterus marginatus. Back reddish, or brownish- grey ; lighter
underneath.
2. Pachysoma titthacheilus, 3. Pteropus brevicaudatus, Male : back
reddish or olive- brown ; a tuft of hair on the sides of the neck, the
chest, and the sides of the greyish abdomen rusty, or orange-coloured.
Female : above yellowish, or greyish-brown ; beneath lighter. In some
individuals from Malacca, the flying membrane is of a light reddish-
brown.
4. Pachysoma Diardii : Back greyish-brown ; abdomen greyish,
lm>wn on the sides. /
2c
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18S Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiiing [No. 171.
5. Paekysoma Duvaucellu: pale greyiflh-brown.
The following is a description of a new-born. The upper part of the
head, the ni4)e of the neck, the back and the posterior surface of
the humerus and femur, were covered with dense, soft, short hairs,
of a dark greyish-brown ; all the rest of the body was naked, of a grey-
ish-black* colour. The eyelids were not yet separated. The joints of
the bones of the extremities were cartilaginous. The nails of the thumb
and index were developed, but the feet and nails of the toes had already
attained the sice of the adult. The tongue was considerably extensile.
The teeth present were :
Incis. i Canin. J^ Mol. -jy^
Entire length, one and four-eighth of an inch, of which the slightly
projecting tail two-eighth inch. Extent of the flying membrane, six
and four-eighth inches.
In an individual measuring two and four-eighth inches in length, with
an extent of the membrane of nine inches, the face and the lower parts,
excepting the throat, had become scantily covered with light brownish-
grey, short hairs. The eyelids were separated. The shoulder, elbow,
hip, and knee-joints, had become ossified, the other joints still remaining
cartilaginoos.
Iksbctivoba.
Gbn. — TuFAiA. Raffles.
TUFAIA FBBBUOINBA, RsfileS.
Stn.— " Tupai Press." Raffles and Horsfield.
Cladobates ferrugineus, F. Cuv. apud Schinz.
Sorex Glis, Diard and Duvaucd.
Qlisorex ferruginea, Desmarest.
Hylogale femiginea, Temminck.
Herpestes, Calcutta Joum. Nat. Hist.*
* Vol. II, p. 458, PL XIII|. The explmatton ucompaaying this figim if m
follows: ** Searchin{f for Col. Farquhar't drawing of Rhufomys Sumatrensit almAf
referred to, I found in the Society a drawing of a bushy-tailed Herpestes^ differing
merely from Mr. Hodgson's Qvio Vrva, in having the tail of one uniform colour with
the body, without the yellow tip. There it no name or letter on the drawing tothew
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1846J tkt M^i&jfMn PflttMn/a mtd /jkjub. 189
"Tapai tana" of the Malays of Pinang.
Hab. — Puumg, Sm^apore, Mtdaptm Pntmula.
Sumatra^ Java» Borneo.
The young of this Tery nomeroiis speciea in hilly >ungle, is easily
tamed, and becomes fiuoailiar with its feedor^ though towards strangers
it retains its original mistrust^ which in matore age is scarcely reclaim-
able. In a state of nature it lives sin^y or in pairs, fiercely ^HaM^lfing
intruders of its own species. When several are confined together, they
fight each other, or jointly attack and destroy the weakest. The natu-
ral food is mixed insectivorous and firugivorous. In confinement, indivi-
duals may be fed exclusively on either, though preference is evinced for
insects ; and eggs, fish, and earth-worms, are equally relished. A short
peculiar tremulous whistling sound, often heard by calls and an-
swers, in the Malayan jtkngle, marks their pleasurable emotions, as
for instance, on the appearance of food, while the contrary is ex-
pressed by shrill protracted cries. Their dispositioa is very restless,
and their great agility enables them to perform the most extraordi-
nary bounds in all directions, in which exercise they spend the day, till
night sends them to sleep in their rudely constructed lairs in ^e highest
branches of trees. At times they will sit on their haunches, holding
their food between the fore-legs, and after feeding, they smooth the head
and face with both fore-paws, and lick the lips and palms. They are
also fond of water, both to drink and to bathe in. The female usually
produces (me young; she has four mamme, the anterior pair of which
is situated on the lower lateral part of the chest, the posterior on the
side of the abdomen. On the lower surface of the tongue, the frenum
is continued to within a short distance of the apex in a raised line, on
either side of which the skin is thickened, fringed at the edges^ and
thus presenting a rudimentary sublingual appendage, somewhat similar
from whence it came, and to preyent its following the &te of Colonel Fai^uhar's
BMzomys, we here afford a copy of it." PI. XI 11^ represents no Herpeste^i the
elongated muzzle, the proximity of the large eye to the ear, which is exposed, and not
hidden hy the hairs of the cheek, are characters foreign to every known species of
Herpesteg* The draughtoman hat very cortectly represented a Tupeda, and the draw-
ing, reappearing as a Herpesies in the Cqleuita Journal qf Natural History, has, hy
Mr. filyth, been traced to be the original of PI. IX, Asiatic Researches, Vol. XIV,
where it properly accompanies the detcription eUSorw QUss, (u e. TupoMaferrugi"
nea) of MM. Diard and Duvaucel.
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190 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 171.
to that observed in Nycticebus tardigraduB ; though in Tupaia ferruginea
the fringes of the margin only are free, the rest being attached to the
tongue, but easily detached by a knife. The lateral raised lines of the
palms and soles, the posterior part of the first phalanges, and the third
phalanx (second of the thumbs,) which is widened into a small soft disk,
in fact all the points which rest upon the ground, are studded with little
transversely curved ridges or duplicatures, similar to those observed
under the toes, of some of &e Geckotida, which fully account for the
precision, the ' applomb,' with which these animals perform the astound-
ing leaps from below, barely touching with the soles the point d'appui
above. In a cage, the Tupai will continue for hours vaulting from
below, back downwards, poise itself for an instant, continuing back
downwards under the horizontal roof, and regain the point of starting,
and thus describe a circle — ^the diameter of which may be three to four
times the length of the animal, — in far shorter time than is required for
the description. In a youug male, measuring from the nose to the root
of the tail seven and three-fourth inches, the tail six and a half inches,
the dimensions of the intestinal canal were :
Small Intestines, 3 feet 4\ inch.; diameter ^ inch.
Large ditto,, 0 „ 3f „ „ i „
Caecum, 0 „ Of
1
16
GostSB verse : 8 pairs ; spurise : 5 pairs =^13 pairs.
This species'*" is infested with^ a Tick of the following description :
Ixodes Tupaia, Body suboval, shining dark-green olive; scaly plate,
palpi casing the pointed sucker, and the legs : pale reddish-brown.
Length, when swollen, three-eighth inch.
Gen. — Gtmnura, Raffles.
Gtmnuba Rafflbsii, Vigors and Horsfield.
Stn. — Viverra gymnura. Raffles.
** Tikns ^mbang bdlan," Raffles.
Hab. — Malacca.
Sumatra, Singapore,
In a district not distant from Malacca, the animal is said to be numer-
ous, though not to be seen in other localities.
* Single light coloared individuals occur with the back, limbs and abdomen grey-
ish, whitish, or isabella*
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1846.] the Muia^an Pemtuuia mut Islands. 191
Gbk. — SoASX, Linn4.
SoRBX MUBiNUS, Liim^.*
Stn. — SoKX myosuros, Pallas, apud Schinz.
Sorex cserulescens, Var, Rafflea ?
" Chinchorot" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Pinang,
Java.
Dark brownish-grey above ; beneath light brownish-grey. Feet and
tail flesh-coloured in the living animal» changing to cinereous after
death. In the young the colour is more of a bluish-grey, slightly mixed
with brown on the back. Length of the head and body five and half
inches ; tail three inches.
Incis. — Canin.- Molar, ----
2s U 5.0
The present differs from the 'Musk Shrew' of Bengal ("Choochundr,")
in its proportionally broader, more developed, and from the head more
diverging ear, which characters also distinguish it from Sorex nigres"
eens. Gray, which it somewhat resembles in its colours. The smell of
musk, emitted by the adult animal, and which in the young is barely
perceptible, is much less intense than that of the Bengal Musk Shrew.
Cabniyoba.
Gbk. — Ubsus, Linnd
Hblabctos, Horsfield.
Hblabctos Malatanus, Horsfield.
Stk. — Ursus Malayanus, Rafiles and Horsfield.
" Brdang" of the Malays.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
Sumatra, Tenasserim Provinces, Assam, Nipal.
Colour of the young : snout and lips pale femigineous. Head, back,
and outside of the limbs black, mixed with pale rust colour, in conse-
quence of many of the black hairs having the point, or a part next to the
* The following Syn. are giyen in Gray's List of Mam. in British Museum : Sorex
mi^asurus, Pallas. Geoff. Ann. Mas. XVII. S, SonneratO, and S, giganteus, I. Geoff.
Mem. XV. 8. indicus^ Geoff. Mem. Mas. I. S, capensis, Geoff. Ann. Mas. XVII. S,
Pihrides, Shaw» Mus. Lever. S, carulescens^ Shaw, Zool. S. crassicaudatus^ Licht.
Satigeth. 8, nepaknsis, Hodgson. 8. moschatus^ Robinson, Assam. Olivier, Voy.
Bnffon. H. N. Suppl. VII.
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192 CtUalogue of Mtmmalia inkMiing [Mo. 171.
point* of the latter colour. Ears, tail, paw8, and inner side of the ex-
tremities shining black. The somewhat woolly hairs of the abdomen
are faintly marked with ferrugineous, and are mixed with longer stiff
black hairs. As observed by Schinz, the mark cm the breast is very
variable in its form. It may be compared to a crescent, assaming
according to the smaller or greater breadth of the limbs, the shape of
the letter U, of a horse-shoe, or a heart. In the living animal it is
of a pale rust, or orange colour, in some individuals with a few small
blackish spots, fading after death to a yellowish-white. A very old
male presented the following dentition :
Incis. ' — • Canin. Molar. — ' —
6 1—1 ' 6 . 6 (3+3)
In a young female, three feet in length, the intestinal canal measured
fifteen feet. It had neither ciecum nor valve to mark the transition.
She had ten grinders in either jaw, of which four were spurious, six true.
Gbk. — Abctictis, Temminck,
Arctictis Bintubokg, Fiachei.
Stn. — ^Viverra ? Binturong, Raffles.
Paradoxurus albifrons, F. Cuvier.
Ictides ater, F. Cuvier.
Arctictis penicillata, Temminck.
Ictides ater, Blainv. Calcutta Joum. of Nat. Hist.*
" Unturong" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
Tenasserim, Arracan, Assam, Bhotan, NipaL
Java and Sumatra are quoted by M. Schinz, but neither Dr. Hors-
field. Sir S. Raffles, nor M. Temminck, {Diseowrs Prelimkuure, Fmma
JaponicaJ mention the Binturtmg as inhabiting either of the two islands.
* In the 3rd Vol. of Calcutta Joum. qf Nat. Hist. p. 410, occurs the following
paisage : "The Bmiuronff was fint discovered in Java, bnt the fint notice of its existence
on the continent of India will be found in the second volume of this Journal, p. 4&7»"
(sic !) '*&c." Sir Stamford Kaffles, who published the first account of this animal, dis-
tinctly states, that it was discovered at Malacca, (not Java, as erroneously stated,) by
Mi^or Farqnhar, and Malacca is utuated on the continent of India as well as Tenas-
serim. The fact of its inhabiting Bkotan, was according to Cuvier (K^ne Animal,) fine
made known by Duvaucel, and the author of the article ^* JeUdes** in the Peamg
Cyelopifdia^ 1838, gives Mr. Hodgson's authority of the BuUyromg't inhahitiBS
Mipal, (Kachar, though they occasionally occur in the central region of Nipal.)
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1846.] the MukyoM PemMuh and Islands. 193
The genenl colour of either sex is hhxk, sprinkled on the body and
extremities with pale fermgineous, produced by some of the hairs having
a part next to the point of that colour. In both sexes nearly all the hairs
of the head, face and throat are thus marked, which communicates to
these parts a whitish or greyish appearance. In the young of either
sex theie is a faint trace of a white spot over the eyes. The long ear-
tufts are always black, the margin of the auricle being either white, or
pale rust-coloured. The tail is black, but the hairs of the anterior or
basal balf* are whitish at the root, or in some uniformly of that colour.
The pupil is vertically contracted by the influence of light ; the iris is
of a beautiful Van Dyke brown. In its habits the Bmturong is both arbo-
real and terrestrial, and nocturnal, sleeping tUl the sun is below the
horizon, when it displays great agility in searching for smaller quadru-
peds, birds, fishes, earth-worms, insects and fruit. The howl is loud,
resembling that of some of the Malayan Paradoxuri. The young are
easily tamed, but the old animal retains its natural fierceness. Between
the anus and penis is situated a large pyriform gland, exceeding two
inches in length, partially divided by a deep naked fossa, commencing
from the latter organ. The gland secretes a light-brown oily fluid, of a
peculiar intense, but not fetid or sickening odour. In a young male,
measuring from the nose to the root of the tail, two feet three and five-
eighth inches, the tail two feet two and a half inches, the intestines were
of the following dimensions :
Small Intestines, . . . . 7 feet 1 1 inches.
Large ditto, 1 foot 10 inches.
Caecum, .. .. .. 0 l^inch.
The circumference of the small intestines about seven-eighth inches •
of the large but little more, but the rectum was thickened two inches
in circumference.
The short caecum is crescent- shaped, or lengthened pyriform. The
stomach is remarkably lengthened cylindrical, the parietes much thick-
ened towards pylorus. Oesophagus enters close to fundus ventriculi,
in consequence of which there is but a slight difference between the
Gwatures.
Length along the greater curvature, . . 1 foot 2 inches.
i» )i »* smaller „ .. 1 ** 1 »«
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194 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 171.
The circumference from cardia round fundus ventriculi measured fire
and a half inches; round pylorus two six-eighth inches. Both the gall-
bladder and the spleen presented a remarkably elongated shape. The
former organ, lengthened pyriform, measured in length two inches;
ductus cysticus two and a half inches. The spleen^ tapering to a narrow
point, was half an inch broad, and eight and a half inches in length.
Costae ver», nine pairs ; spuriae, five pairs = fourteen pairs.
Gbn. — MusTELA, Linn4,
PuToaius, Cuvier.
PuTORius NUDiPBs, Fred. Cuvier.
Stn. — Mustela nudipes, Desmar. apud Schinz.
** Pul^an" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
HAB.-^il/a/ayait Peninsula,
Sumatra, Borneo.
The muzzle and the soles of the feet are pale flesh-coloured. The
animal is said to inhabit the densest jungle, and is most difficult to
obtain.
MusTBLA, Cuvier.
MusTBLA FLAYiGULA, Boddaert.
Stn. — Viverra quadricolor, Shaw.
Marte ^ gorge dor^e, Desmarest.
Mustela Hardwickii, Horsfield.
Martes flavigula, Hodgson, apud Gray.
" Anga Prao" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
Java, Sumatra, Nipal.
The Malayan individuals diflfer from those from Northern India,
originally described, in having the fur shorter and less dense, the head
pale-brown, the neck and back pale yellowish-brown, becoming darker
towards the tail, which, as well as the posterior extremities, is black.
The anterior extremities are greyish-brown; the feet and the streak
behind the ear deep brown ; the lips whitish ; the throat and chest
yellowish- white or ochreous; the scanty hairs of the abdomen pale
brownish.
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1846.] the Mula^M Penmsuia and Islandt. 195
G«w. — LuTRA, Starr.
LxjTRA Naib, FVed. Cavier.
Stn. — Lutra indica. Gray.
" Anjing Ayer" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula,
China, Bombay, South Mahratta Country.
Lutra Barano, Raffles.
Stk. — " Barang Barang" or '* Ambrang," Raffles.
Lutra leptonyx, Wagner, apud Schinz.
Lutra Simung, Schinz ?*
"Mumrang" or '^ Amrang" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan PenmnUa.
Sumatra, Borneo.
The young are very playful, and soon become sufficiently domestica-
ted to roam about the house, and to appear when called. Its voice is a
short shrill whistling, not unlike the sound of the cricket, but stronger.
Its food is not confined to fishes and Crustacea ; birds and insects are
equally relished. The muzzle is hairy, but in the old animal the hairs
become rubbed off. The Malayan individuals appear to attain to a
greater size than the Sumatran, described by Raffles. An old male
measured from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail two feet eight
and a half inches ; the tail one foot eight inches. In a young male two
feet and two inches, and the tail one foot two-eighth of an inch in
length, the simple intestinal canal measured nine feet and one inch, with
a circumference throughout of about two and two-eighth inches. No
caecum. Each of the kidneys consisted of ten loosely connected glands.
AoNTx, Lesson,
AoNTX LBFTOKTx, Gray : List.
Stn. — Lutra leptonyx, Horsfield.
Lutra cinerea, Illiger.
* In Schins's diagnoiis of Luira Simung is said ** ungyibus robustis falcuUribus/'
("die Nagelan den Zehen tind stark und gekrUmmt") which if the passage refers
to Lutra lepUmyx, Horsfield, must be a mistake, at the original diagnosis expressly
atatet ** ungvibus brevibos sublamnaribos." As Schini describes £jiUra Barang
" nngvibos minntissimis obtusia" iMira leptonyx is probably meant, and thus the one
species is mistaken for the other.
2d
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196 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiiiag [No. 171.
Lutra perspicillata, U, Geoff.
Mustek Lutra, Marsden.
Aonyx Horsfieldii, Gray.
Lutra Barang, apud Schinz ?
" Anjing Ayer" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
Java, Sumatra, Singapore, Nipal.
This, as well as the two preceding speoies, inhabits numerously the
banks of the Malayan rivers, and all are at times used by the Malays
in river fishing.
Gen. — Canis, Linn4.
CvoN, Hodgson.
CuoN FRiMAVUs, Hodgson.
Stn. — Canis primeevus, Hodgson.*
Chrysseus primsevus, Hamilton Smith.
ChryssBus soccatus. Cantor.
** Anjing dtan" of the Malays of the Penin«ula.
HAB.-*Afa/ayan Peninsula.
Bengal, Nipal.
Some slight differences occur in the Malayan individuals. The infe*
rior surface, the inside of the ears and limbs, the lips and throaty are of
the same colour as the back, but much paler. A black carpal spot,
like that of the wolf, is very distinct in the male, less so in the female.
The young animal of either sex has a faint white spot with a few black**
ish bristles, situated nearly midway between the angle of the mouth and
the ears. Of the wavy wool of th^ Buansu, the Malayan wild dog,
inhabiting a tropical climate, has but a little on the inner side of, and
immediately behind the ear ; the posterior part of the abdomen is almost
naked. The short bristles of the lips, cheeks, throat, and above the
eyes, are all black. In habits, so fully described by Mr. Hodgson, and
in size, the Malayan agrees with the Nipalese. In a young male, from
* Mr. Ogilbj coDfliders Cams Dukhunemis, Sykes, and Canis prmmims, Hodgwn,
to be identical, and apparently not different from C. sumatrensis, Hardwicke, (Mem,
on the Mammalogy qf the Himalayahs, apud Royle,) Colonel Sykee, on tke contrary,
describes C. Dukhunensis as being *' essentially distinct from Canis Quao, or Suma*
trensiSf Hardwicke/'
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1846.] the Malayan Pemn$ula und Isiands. 197
the nose to the root of the tail two feet eight and a half inches in length ;
the tail one foot, the intestinal canal was of the following dimensions :
Small Intestines, • • 6 feet 2 inches.
Large, ditto, . . . . • . . . 0 „ 10|^ „
CsBcum, .. .. •• .• 0 „ 4 „
The latter intestine is spiral, moch widened at the origin.
Costae verae 8 pairs, spurin 5 pairs » 18 pairs.
The Malays mention another, black wild dog (" Anjing dtan 6tam,")
as also inhabiting the densest jungle. A Hyena is also reported to
occur on the Peninsula.
Mongrel curs, "pariah dogs," of every description, infest erery vil-
kge, but apparently not uninhabited places, nor localities far distant
from the dwellings of man. As they all may be said to be in a state of
half domestication, and are of forms very different from the wild dog,
which shuns the human presence, their origin cannot with certainty be
traced to the Malayan Peninsula.
Gbn.— VivKBRA, Linn^,
VlTBBaA ZiBBTBA, LiuU^.
Stn — ^Viverra undulata. Gray.
Viverra melanurua, Hodgson 'I
Viverra orientalis, Hodgson I ^ j /i ¥ • -.
Viverra civettoides. Hodgson >^^ ^^^ • ^*-
Undescribed Civet, McClelland j
" Tanggallong" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Pinang, Singapore, Malayan Peninsula.
Southern China, Siam, Bengal, Khasyah Hills, Nipal.
Judging by the comparatively few individuals observed in the Straits
of Malacca, this species would appear to be far less numerous, than the
following. Of several, the largest, which was a female, measured from
the apex of the nose to the root of the tail two feet and eight inches ;
the tail one foot eight and a half inches.
ViVBBBA Tanoalunoa, Gray.
Syh. — ^Viverra Zibetha, Lin. apud Raffles.
"Tangalung," Raffles.
Viverra Zibetha, Lin. apud Horsfield.
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198 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiiing [No. 171.
Viverra Zibetha, apad Fred. Cuvier.
ViTerra Zibetha, Lin. apad Schinz.*
" Mdiang jeb6t" of the Malays of the Peniiuiila.
HAB.*-Ptfiaii^, Singapore, Malayan Peninsula,
Samatra, Borneo, Celebes, Ambo3rna, Philippines.
This species is readily distinguished from F. Zibetha by a continuous
longitudinal black band occupying the upper surface of the tail, the
numerous irregular rings being separated only on its inferior half. (Gray :
Proceed. Zool. Society, 1832, p. 63.) The number and distance of the
half rings on the lower surface of the tail, vary in different individuals,
some of which have either the entire tul, or the anterior half or third
of the tail, thus marked, the rest being black. The very young animal
is generally of a much darker ground colour than the adult, and the
black marks are therefore less conspicuous. Under certain lights the
colour appears uniformly black. Viverra Tangalunga and Zibetha^ how-
ever similar in habits and general colours, neither live nor breed toge-
ther. Placed side by side, the living animals present a marked dissimi-
larity of countenance, which although obvious to the eye, would be most
difficult, if possible at all, to convey in words. The female has three
pairs of Mammas, and produces, from one to three young. The Malays
of the Peninsula distinguish by different names the Zibetha and the
Tangalunga, but as they suppose the civet of the former species to be
of better quality, perhaps because it is scarcer, they will frequently offer
for sale individuals of the latter, exceedingly numerous species* impos-
ing upon it the name of V. Zibetha: *' Tanggalong" of the Peninsula.
The largest individual of the present species observed, measured in
length from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail three feet and oae
inch ; the tail one foot five and a half inches. In a younger, a female,
three feet five and a half inches in length, of which the tail one foot and
one inch, the intestinal canal was of the following dimensions :
Small Intestines, . . . . . . 7 feet 5 inches.
Large ditto. 0 „ 9 „
Caecum, 0 „ 1 „
Costae verae, seven pairs ; spurise, six pairs = thirteen pairs.
* The true Fiverra Zibetha, Linn^, is quoted by Schins under the denominations
ofF. bengtUentu, Hardwicke (?), and F, melanura, Hodgson.
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1846.] ike Malaymi Peminsuia amd Islands. 199
ViYBBRicuLA, Hodgson.
VlVEBRICULA MALACCEN8I8.
Stn. — ^Viverra malaccenais, Omelm.
ViTerra Rasse. Horsfield.
Viverra Chinda, Buchanan Hamilton MSS.
ViTerra indica, QeoSroj.
Viverra bengalensis, Gray : lUustr.
Viverra pallida. Gray : lUustr.
Genetta Manillensis, Eydoaz.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
China, Philippine Islands. Java, Singapore, Cochin-China, Tenas-
serim Provinces, Bengal, Nipal, Hindoostan, Dukhun, Bombay.
On the Malayan Peninsula this species appears to be more numerous
than F. Zibetha; less so than F. Tungalnnga, and in size inferior to
either. The largest observed was three feet four inches in length, of
which the tail one foot three and a half inches. In a male, measuring
from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail, two feet and three-
fourth of an inch, the tail one foot one inch, the dimensions of the
intestinal canal were :
Small Intestines, . . . . . . 4 feet 0 inch.
Large ditto, .. .. *•• •• 0„8 „
Caecum,.. .. .. .. .. 0 „ Of „
The three preceding species have the foUowing characters in com-
mon— The pupil is vertical, oblong ; the iris of a rich brown. They are
arboreal as well as terrestrial, preying upon the smaller, quadrupeds,
birds, fish, Crustacea, insects and fruit. Naturally very fierce, they are
scarcely reclaimable except in youth, but with age the original disposi-
tion returns. Their voice is peculiar, hoarse and hissing.
Gbn. — Peionodon, Horsfield.
Pbionodok gbacilis^ Horsfield.
Stw.— Viverra J Linsang, Hardwicke.
Felis gracilis, Horsfield. .
Viverra Hardwicke, Lesson. .
Viverra gracilis, Desmarest, apud Schinz.
Linsang gracilis, Miiller, apud Gray : List, and Schinz.
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200 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 171.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
Java, Samatra« Borneo, Siam.
The ground colour is buff» and the dark marks are of a deep snuff
colour, inclining to black with purple reflection. Length from the apex
of the nose to the root of the tail : one foot six inches, the tail one foot
three six-eighth inches.
Mr. Rappa, for many years a dealer in objects of natural history
at Malacca, who previously had been supplied with a figpcure and descrip-
tion of Prionodon gracilis, reported in a memorandum accompanying the
specimen, that it had been captured in the jungle at some distance from
Malacca. It was unknown to himself and to the natives. At first the
animal was fierce and impatient of confinement, but by degrees it became
very gentle and playful, and when subsequently suffered to leave the
cage, it went in search of sparrows and other small birds, displaying
great dexterity and unerring aim in stealthily leaping upon them. Fruit
of every description it refused. Another younger individual was cap-
tured about the same time, but contrived to make its escape.
Gbk.— Pabadoxubus, Fred. Cuvier.
Paguma, Gray.
Paguma leucomystax. Gray : List ?
SYN.-^Paradoxurus leucomystax. Gray ?
Amblyodon auratus, Jourdan ?
" Mdsang bdlan" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
Singapore, Sumatra.
In a single individual observed, the hairs of the body, limbs and an-
terior third of the tail, are greyish-yellow at the base, next bright rust-
coloured, with the apex shining black, which produces a mixture of
ferruginous and black, the latter prevailing on the nape of the neck, mid-
dle line of the back, and the anterior third of the tail. The hairs of the
vertex and the ridge of the nose are dark at the base, with yellowish
points. The large oblique whitish spot in front of the ear, produced by
uniformly whitish hairs, is on either side blended with the whitish
vertex and ridge of the nose, and is continued down the sides of the
neck, forming a large broad arrow-shaped mark. The orbits are
dark brown, the face, lips and throat pale brown. The long rigid white
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1846.] the Makftm PmUtuuh and Jakmds. 301
wfaiskms are mixed with a few shorter black bristles. The feet are
dsrk brown* the posterior two-thirds of the tail uniformly blaek. The
lower sorliBuse and the inner side of the extremities are pale femigi-
Boos. From the apex of the nose to the root of the tail : two feet three
inches, the tail one foot eight inches.
Paguma tkivikoata, Gray : List.
Stv. — Viverra tri?irgata. Reinwardt, Mus. Leyd.
Paradoxunis trivirgatus, Gray.
" Mtisang 6kar" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
liA»,'^Malayan Pemntula.
Singapore, Tenasaerim.
The ground colour varies from yellowish, or brownish, to blackish-
grey* Fur short, peculiarly soft, silky. The dorsal streaks are either
continued, undulated, (the central nearly always,) or composed of separate
black spots. Some indiyiduala hare a short white streak on the ridge of
the nose. The largest male measured from the apex of the nose to the
root of the tail, two feet two and a half inches ; the tail two feet three
inches.
Pakdoxubus Musakoa, Gray.
Stn.— Viverra hermaphrodita, Pallas, apud Schinz.
Viverra fasciata, Gmelin ?
Viverra Musanga, Marsden, Raffles.
Musang bulan, Raffles.
Viverra Musanga, Var. javanica, Horsfield.
Ichneumon prehensilis, Buchanan Halmilton MSS.
Platyschista hermaphrodita, Otto *]
Paradoxurus Pallasii, Gray I . o i.-
Paradoxurus Crossii, Gray ( ^^^^ S®*^""'
Paradoxurus dubius. Gray J
Paradoxurus Musangoides, Gray.
Paradoxurus typus, apud Schlegel.
Paradoxurus felinus, Wagner, apud Schinz.
" Musang" or " Mdsang P6ndan," (when the tail is with white
point: "Mtisang Bdngkwang,") of the Malays of the Penin-
sula,
^AB.-^Pinang, Singapore, Malayan Peninsula,
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Timor.
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202 Catalogue of Mamnuilia inhabiting [No. 171.
The ground colour and dorsal marks of this exceedingly numeroui
species are liable to considerable variations, the principal of which
are noted by Schinz: individuals occur (probably of every species)
with the apex of the tail white, with elongated white spots on the ab-
domen, with the tail spirally twisted. In most the dorsal marks
become indistinct, or invisible in certain lights. The female has from
one to three young, of colours similar to the adult, but less distinct,
their fur is softer, somewhat woolly, mixed with longer stiff black hairs.
The young is tamed without difficulty, and is sometimes kept in houses
to destroy rats and mice. The Paradoxwri are in habits like the Cioets.
They have an elliptical pupil, vertically contracted by the influence of
light. Their glandular secretion is of a peculiar, not civet or musk-like
odour. The largest specimen of a great number, measured from the apex
of the nose to the root of the tail two feet and half an inch ; the tail one
foot four and a half inches. In a male, measuring three feet one and
a half inch in length, of which the tail, one foot four and a half inches,
the intestinal canal were of the following dimensions : —
Small Intestines, . • . . . . 5 feet 8 inches.
Large ditto 0 „ 5 „
Caecum, 0 „ IJ „
Costse verse, seven pairs ; spurise, six pairs = 13 pairs.
Pabadoxubus (?) DsEBTANUs, Gray.
Syn. — Paradoxurus ? Zebra, Grray.
Hemigalea Zebra, Jourdan.
Viverra Boiei, Muller.
" Musang Bdtu" or " Sfingah Prao" of the Malays of the Penin-
sula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
Borneo.
The ground colour varies from pale ochreous to buff, and the dsrk
marks in shape and number scarcely alike in any two individuals, from
snuff colour to black. The species is apparently not numerous, and is
celebrated among the Malays for its great agility. It is said chiefly to
feed upon the larger birds, such as the Argus pheasant, which it
will hunt down, following its prey till the strength of the latter is
exhausted, when it falls an easy victim to the indefatigable pursuer.
The slender vermiform make, the countenance and distribution of
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1846.] the Malayan Peninsula and Islands. 203
colours ; the serrated, flattened false molars ; the soles, hairy between and
under the toes, and slightly in the centre ; the somewhat removed thumb,
are characters by which this animal differs from Paradoxurus, and forms
a link between that genus and PHonodon in the same manner that
Vmerricula connects Viverra to Prionodon. The largest male observed
measured from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail two feet ; the
tail one foot and four inches.
Gen. — Ctkooalb, Gray.
Otnogalb Bbnnbttii, Gray.
Syn. — Viverra (Limictis) carcharias, Blainville.
Potamophilus barbatus, Kuhl.
Cynogale barbata, Schinz.
Has. — Malayan Peninsula.
Sumatra, Borneo.
The very young, of which two individuals, a male and a female, were
found with the mother, differ from the adult in having a very soft, silky,
dense fur, mixed with longer hairs, which are black, except on the
chest and abdomen, where the apex is silvery. Over the tarsus and on
the upper surface of the feet some of the hairs have a subterminal white
band, dose to the black apex. The posterior margin of the ear is hairy
and of a silvery colour. This animal appears to be of rare occurrence
on the Malayan Peninsula, and the natives are consequently not ac-
quainted with it. The largest male examined measured from the apex
of the nose to the root of the tail two feet three inches ; the tail eight
inches.
CTo be continued. J
2 b
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304
Notes, chiefly Geological, on the Coast of Coromandel^/rom the Petmaur to
Pondicherry, By Captain Nbwbold,
The coast from the mouth of the Pemnaur to Madras, is a sandy
plain, covered with reddish sandy loapn which occasionally passes into
clay, and generally rests upon the hluish-black marine clay of the Coro-
mandel. It has heen already said, that the breadth of the latter stratum
varies, and is interstratified with layers of sand and reddish clays ; — the
whole resting usually on granitic or hypogepe rocks : nodules and
masses of a concretionary sandstone are found imbedded in the sands
close to lugh- water mark, Qft^A perforated by Uthodomi. Magnetic iron
sand is found in many situations mingled with the sea. sand, derived
probably from the hornblende and basaltic greenstone rocks. This iron
sand occasionally, I suspect, contains potassium, and strongly resembles
iserine in external character.
Farther inland, between the base of the ghauts and the sea, extend
thin beds of laterite, and sandstone closely allied to laterite, passing
into puddingstones and soft shells of various colours.
The puddingstones usually imbed rounded pebbles of white quartz,
ai^d pf the older sandstcme which crests the eastern ghauts near Nag-
gbery, Udegherry, &c.
The beds of this sandstone rarely exceeds three or four feet in thick-
ness, ap4 may be seon near Sri Permatoor, on the great western road,
(vide Notes from Mangalore to Madras), and, according to native inlor*
matiQQ, in the vicinity of Parmaulnaigpel, about si^ and a half
miles to the B. by 8. of Tripassore, a little north of the road to
Madras. Their continuity, and that of the laterite beds, with which
they are probably contemporaneous, has been much interrupted fay
aqdeous denudation, which probably took place while the Coromandd
Coast was emerging from the bed of the sea.
It is also probable that these sandstone strata were once continuous
with those imbedding silicified wood at Pondicherry and Verdachellum
in south Arcot.
These remarks are merely thrown out to elicit farther investigation
and research into the age, and extent on the coast, of these interesting
littoral deposits, by which we may be enabled, probably, to mark out
the ancient lines of coast formed, as the land gradually rose.
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NoieB, ckUt/fy Geohgietti, 8fC. 205
FiDin its flatness the plim of Goromaadel has been usually neglected
by geologists as of little promise, but I trusti these remarks will prevent
obsenrets from running over it in the dark.
The sandstones and slate elays should be diligently examiiied for or^
ganiii remahis, M alter all^ it is possible, they may be freshwater deposits^
Of the sea and its inroads upon the land, from the Penuaur to the
mouth of the CauTery» the natives preserve many wild tradition^,
which I hate httki doubt originated in a sinldng of this part of the
ooast.
In ft Mahratta MS. of the Mackenzie collection,* there is a legend
of the origin of the town of Sri<^hari*oota, on the south boundary of
Telinghana, close to the west shore of the Pulicat kke^ which states the
submersion of another town ; the ruins of which, according to the
MS. are still to be seen UttdemeAth the water. Trisancu, a kmg of the
Solar race, is sdd to hate been founder of it.
The miracle of the sea Shell passing by a subterranean passage to the
Pandurangha temple, might hate originated from the chrcumstanoe
of subterranean beds of marine shells being found, as at Madras, &o.
inland.
The Pulicat lake is & lagoon running down the coast from Deraz*
patumam on the north, to Pulicat on the south, nearly forty miles
long, and tarying in breftdth f^Om ft few yards to twelte miles. A spot
of sand ftonk a quarter 6f ft mile to fite miles broad, running parallel
with the coast, separates it, excepting four narrow openings, from the
Bay of Bengal. Three of these openings are at its northern and southern
extremities, and the other between the hamlets of Ryadooroo and Day-
uUum.
The lake is studded with numerous islets : its inland or western
shore is low and sandy, furrowed by numerous rills which run down
during the monsoon f^om the sides of the eastern ghauts, (here hating
the local name of the Pulicat hills), about eleten miles to the west-
ward.
The lake is in general shallow, and its formation is attributed to the
sea bursting through the sand-bank in front on the low ground inland,
now its bed. I am not aware of any other ^ tradition which refers its
origin to the historic period, except that just alluded to.
• Madras Journal, No. 30, p. 86.
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206 Notes, chiefiy Geological, [No. 171.
Madrae, — Granite and the hypogene schiats, have been before stated
as the rocks basing the more recent deposits covering the level plain
of Madras. In the bed of the river (Adyar) near Marmalong bridge, and
on its right bank at the quarries for the old breakwater, in the park of
Goindy, around the race course, it usually contains but little mica, being
composed of grains of a greyish quartz, with white felspar usually wea-
thered and earthy on the exposed bosses and blocks in which the rock
makes its appearance. Much of the granite near the Little Mount I found to
be pigmatitic, that is, a binary granite of felspar and quartz, without mica.
Laterite is seen overlying the granite at the breakwater quarries
before mentioned, and I am informed by Capt. Worster, that beds of this
rock occur about a mile north of Nabob's Choultry on the Poonamalee
road ; — also near Tremungalum, about two miles N£. of Santivellore ;
near Vungada, about two miles S£. from Sri Permatoor ; at Cotrum-
baucum, half a mile north of Raja's Choultry, and about two
miles north of Balchitty Choultry ; besides the beds at the Red hills,
about eight miles NW. from Madras, so ably described by Mr. Cole,
and which occupying an area of about fifty miles, cover an undulating
tract, elevated usually forty or fifty feet above the general level of the
country. Those near Sri Permatoor tank, I have already noticed (vide
notes from Mangalore to Madras.)
At the bases of St. Thomas' Mount and the Palaveram Hill, granite
is seen outcropping, and it also forms some of the smaller hills in the
vicinity of Palaveram.
Both the Palaveram Hill and that of St. Thomas' Mount, are com-
posed for the most part of a massive variety of hornblende rock» in
which stratification is indistinct.
This rock, though often entirely composed of black brilliant horn-
blende, at Palaveram is usually a dull olive-green colour, translucent at
the edges, and appears to be a mixture of hornblende and felspar,
with a small proportion of quartz, in an almost homogeneous mixture.
This rock occasionally imbeds garnets, crystallized schorl, hornblende,
and a little dark mica. A little to the SSB. of the Mount, near the
tank, is a lateritic bed.
The height of the Palaveram Hill, on which the bungalow built by
Col. Coombes stands, Lieut. Ludlow informs me, is nearly 345f feet
above the plain at its base.
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1846.] frfm Fennmr to Pandicherry. 207
Chinghput. — ^This is the judicial bead-quarters and capital of the
Jaghire of the same name ; it is situated about tbirty-six miles to the
SSW. of Madras, at the base of a small cluster of hills ; the loftiest
not being higher than the Flagstaff hill at Palaveram, and composed of
a precisely similar variety of hornblende rock (garnetiferous), and as-
sociated with binary granite, or pigmatite.
The hornblende rock passes into light shades of green. It has been
largely used as a building stone in the construction of the fort, which
is extensive^ and said to be nearly two miles in circumference. It, as
well as the town, lies on a stream, which falls into the Palaur, about half
a mile to the west, almost surrounded by this hilly cluster. A wet
ditch surrounds the outer walls which enclose a citadel, — the remains of
the ancient palace of the native princes, government offices, and bar-
racks, &c. Near the outer gate is a weaving establishment : and on a
neighbouring eminence stands the European burial ground. The na-
tive town is populous ; the houses are, for the most part, built of mud,
thatched^ or tiled.
Chingleput was early a place of importance, and for some time the
residence of the Hindu princes of the Bijanugger dynasty.
During the early wars, when the French and English were strug-
gling for empire in the East, the occupation of Chingleput, which lies
on the great southern road to Madras from Pondicherry, was a point of
much consequence. It was captured by the French in 1761, but
retaken the following year by Capt. Olive. It was here the English
army under Sir Hector Munro retreated (11th September, 1780) from
Conjeveram, after the fatal massacre of BaiUie's detatchment near
Perambaucum.
The soil in the vicinity is sandy, but in some places overlies a stiff
day used for bricks and tiles. The cultivation is principally of rice,
irrigated by a tank which lies to the east of the Madras road.
Carangooly* — The sandy bed, sometimes occupied by a muddy torrent
of the Palaur, is crossed about two and a half miles S W. from Chingle-
put. It is about three-quarters of a mile from bank to bank. This river,
which takes its rise in the table lands of Mysore in the elevated
tracts, (their water sheds) between Colar and Nundi-droog, pursues a S£.
course by Baitmungalum and Watlaconda-droog, to the Pullur gap in
the eastern ghauts, whence it descends to the vale of Amboor. Here,
following the north-easterly direction and slope of the valley which it
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208 N^te§i chiefly Qeohgi<mi, [No. 171.
^srtUizes, it wariuM Htxe hut of th« eaBteifii ghauts, rdCeiting itiftny moun-
tain tribttti^ei to th6 base of Ataboor-dtoog ) whenoej turtiitig ti^e
iiDrth«rft flank of the RajabpolUum and Jatadle hilis^ which bound the
right of the yalley, it dseapes easterly by Palicoiidft td Vellofe. Thenee
it crosses the Gamatio increased by the Poni ; by Arcot^ Wallajahbad,
Conjeyeram, and Chingleput to the Bay of Bengal* into Which it flows
about three and a half miles, south of Sadras, in latitude 18^ 28' N.
after a course of about 990 miles, m^ked during its prepress through
the Caruatic by a uarrow, verdant, winding isone of Hch v^tfttioii.
The road from Chingleput to Gctfangooly ll^b at uo gr«at distukoe,
for the firi^t and greater part of its course, ftt>m the right bank of the
river, over the plaiu ou which the town imd fbrt of Ctttaugo^ MaaAi tc
the eastward of the large tank, and about thirteen miles 8SW^ from
Chingleput. A few low hills iu thd vicinity mark the prolcmgation
of the bed of hornblende rock observed nt 6t» Thomas' Mount, Palavc'-
ram, and Chingleput^ The prevailing soil is n dandy loami
Carangooly, like Chingleput, during our early wars with the French,
was a military post of great importauce, though uow reduced to
insignificance. The gates of the fort Wtfe blowu opCU} and the place
stormed by Capt. Davis (January a4th, 1781) t Hyder's garridon was
700 strong*
The fort wus dismantled by General Stu&rt, in February 1788.
PermacoiL^^The route to Piprmaooil lies oVer a pkin l^ss cultivated
and more jungly than hitherto ; varied &t Acherowauk by a range of
hil^ running for two or three miles in a 8W. direction, flankitig the
tight of the road. At Permacoil the granitic rooks rise above the sur^
face in clusters varying from 100 to 300 feet high. The Ohief mass is
composed of felspar, quarts, mioa< imd horubleude, in some places
veined by u porphyritio grmiitie with large plates of miott. The mica is
sometimes entirely replaced by hornblende in the same mass, and would
be termed a syenite by many geologists. 1 picked up a few crystals of
adularia in the gravelly detritus of a weathering vein, aitd som« fiiie
specimens of an iridescent felspar. The febpar^ which prevails in the
substance of the rocks, is reddish, and the mica dark coloured, bat it
sometimes occurs in rich gold coloured scaled and plates.
The soil is a greyish* friable loam, passing into reddish and sandy,
and usually rests on a bed of kunker ; below which, in a bed of sand and
gravely water is found at depths of from eight to fourteen feet £rom the
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1846.] fr(m Pewumr to Pondkskerry. 209
»ar&oe« The surrounding country is generally rocky and jungly. Rice,
nggi, ko?aloo, and bajra are the staple articles of cultivation.
With the exception of two or three fiuniliei of Falioare and Brahmins,
spoakiBg Telinghi, the inhabitants are chiefly of the Pallay war caste,
and speak T^amul : there are still a few Mussulmen left here. The
town is situated a little south of the tank bund, at the western base
of the reeks, and is said to contain about 600 houses.
The remains ol the fort stand on a steep rock, overlooking the town,
about 300 feet high, ipid not commanded by any of the sunounding
heights. Like Garangooly and Chinglepiit, it became of importance as a
military post during hostilities with the French. In 1760 it was taken
after a severe assault by Sir Byre Goote, who was wounded here;
beiieged by Hyder in 1781 but not taken, and again in combination with
the French in 1782, to whom it was compelled to capitulate on the 6th
May.
It was subsequently bloim up and dismantled : but in the succeeding
war with Tippoo, it was held as a post of observation by a company
vuiar an officer, which was cut off by Tippoo in 179K
ilAtrteiHft CkwUry.-r^Tlm place is situated on the celebrated Red hills
which run to the rear of Pondicherry, from which it is about four and a
half miles NNE. These beds of sandstone, which extend probably
tether to the NS. will be deeeribed more fully when speaking of Pon*
dichenry. They overlie the Neooomien limestcme beds, which are seen
outcropping nearer the sea to the NB. in the vioinity of Co^jimere,
about ten miles north from Pondieherry, on the Madras along shore
ntad, &c. which passes by Sadras and the seven Pagodas-*^the ruins of
Mahabalipuram, or Mavellipuram, as it is called by natives. These ruins
lie among a cluster of low rocks which project from a sandy spit run*
nmg down the coast from Covelong to Hedoor, a distance of about
aateen miles in breadth. It veries froni half a mile to one and a quarter
of a mile. In front, dashes the everlasting s«ff i in r«ar lies a salt marsh
of upwards of a mile broad in some parts, and oonununicating with the
•oa on the south and north extremities of the aand hank in its front, by
two nairow openings. The prin<»pal sculptured rocks He about two
and three-quarter miles from the south extremity cl the bank, almost
abreast, but a little south of, the CUngleput hilla ahready described.
In the monsoon they are insulated from the main^lnnd by the inundation
of the salt marsh in their rear.
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210 Notes, chiefly Geological, [No. 171.
' A series of bare granite rocks, naturally of fantastic contour, nearly
a mile longhand 120 feet high, has afforded the Hindu artist ample
scope for the exercise of his chisel, which must have been wrought of the
finest tempered steel, for which India, since the dawn of history, has been
justly celebrated. The bronze tools of the Egyptians might answer
well enough in the limestone quarries around old Cairo, in work-
ing the blocks which constitute the great bulk of the pyramid, but
would be of little avail in the quarries of Syene, a type of whose gra-
nite we find in the redder felspar. Quaternary granites compose the
great monolith raths of the seven pagodas — a mixture of red and
white felspar, white quartz, dark mica, and h!omblende. It is more
than probable that Indian steel found its way into £g3rpt during the
early traffic that is known to have subsisted between India, Judaea,
Yemen, and Egypt. It is absurd to suppose, that the sharply cut and
deeply engraved hieroglyphics which cover the granite obelisks of
Egypt, were done with chisels of bronze, even armed with corundum
dust.
Quintus Curtius informs us, that Poms presented Alexander with a
quantity of steel as one of the most acceptable and valuable gifts India
could offer.
The granite blocks here, as elsewhere in India, are subject to spon-
taneous concentric exfoliation and splitting. The globular mass ap-
parently about sixty feet in circumference, which we see nicely poised on
a convex mass of granite — the pat of butter petrified by the god of milk-
maids, Krishna — is ascribable to the first process ; and the rents in the
sculptured rocks— one of which cleaving the monolith pagodas, was as-
cribed by Mr. Chambers to a violent earthquake — have doubtless been
caused by the latter process of spontaneous splitting.
With regard to the firahmanical history of the seas overwhelming the
ancient city and rolling over its ruins at the fiat of the God of the Heavens,
Indra, who, it is said, loosed th6 chains of the ocean and overwhelmed
its wicked ruler Malecheren, there are few facts that can be relied
on — except that pieces of pottery, Roman and Chinese coins, are occasion-
ally washed ashore in storms, and the remains of ruins and sculptured
rocks are at a little distance in the sea.
From a multitude of enquiries which I have made regarding the
encroachment of the sea on various parts of the Coromandel Coast, I am
led to think, that the shore has been subject^ like that of the Baltic, to
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undulations, causing the sea to eneroadi and recede in different parte.
Marks on the rocks, as on those of the Baltic and Caspian, would serve
to determine the question. ^
FVom the inscriptions hitiierto deciphered, nothing decisive has heen
obtained as to the date of the sculptures. In the 3rd report, by Taylor,
on the Mackenzie MSS. section 9, we find it stated that in the Call
Ynga, Singhama Nayadu, a zemindar of the Vellugotiyara race, ruled
at Mallapur, (Mavellipoor). In that time during a famine many artifi-
cers resorted hither, and wrought on the mountain a variety of works
during two or three years. Ignorant people term these things the work
of Visvacarma ; but, (says the writer) the marks of the chisel remaining
disprove that opinion. Besides Singhama Nayadu built a palace on the
hill, of which a few fragments now only remain. " In another MS.
we find a Singhama Nayadu mentioned as son of Vennama Nayadu,
and who became head of his race, and whose brother made successful in-
cursion against Canchi and the Pandya kings, 9Bd beat the Musul-
mans."
There must be always some doubt until the identification of this
Singhama of the Cali Yug and the Singhama who lived at the time of
the Mohomedan invasion, a period not more remote than the 7th cen-
tury of the Christian era.
Mr. Walter Elliott, with the aid of inscriptions he has lately brought
to light at Idian Padal, two miles north of Mavellipoor, in old Tamul
characters, one of which bears the name of Tribhuvana Vira Deva, a
Chola king — and other collateral evidence — infers that its rulers were in
a state of independence during the 6th and beginning of the 7th cen-
turies.'*'
None of these inscriptions bear the special number of the year, but
Mr. BUiott mentions one, in the neighbouring hamlet of Parajaskaran
Choultry — in the same character as those of Idian Padal, and Varaha
Swami — as bearing the name of the reigning sovereign Vikrama Deva,
and the date of 1157 of the Salivahana era. The other names of sove-
reigns that occur, are Kama Raja and Ati Rana Chanda Pahava.
These inscriptions referred merely to grants and sales. The time in
which Tribhuvana Vira Deva ruled remains to be fixed. But even when
this is accomplished, we shall be still in the dark as to the exact date of
• Madras Journal, No. 30, for June 1844.
2f
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212 NoieM, chiefly Geological, [No. 171.
these singular sculptures which resemble,'*' as Mr. Fergusson justly
observes, in plan and design the Hindu series at Ellora, though many
of their details are only to be found at Ajunta and Salsette. It is evi-
dent, however, that the rocks were executed under the direction of
priests of Siva and Vishnu, as no traces of Buddhism or of the Jains
are seen.
From the inscriptions hitherto brought to light, I coincide with Mr.
Elliott in supposing that the character in which some of them are writ-
ten. (Ghrantham and Nagri) are not older than the 6th century. The
freshness of the chisel- marks on the granite on which Mr. Taylor and
some other antiquarians found, in part, their suppositions of a still more
modern origin, (viz. from 300 to 500 years) cannot be relied on, as
the marks in the quarries of Syene, and in the defile leading from Thebes
to Cossier testify.
One general remarkable feature in these sculptures remains to be
noticed, viz. that they have been left apparently in haste, being all un-
finished. Mr. Qoldingham mentions a tradition of the workmen, who
had emigrated from the north, having suddenly been recalled by their
prince before they had completed them, lliis tradition, and the similarity
of the sculptures to those of the Deccan, are in favour of the theory that
they are not the work of the inhabitants of the country, yet the inscriptions
in the old Tamul character must have been executed probably at a
later period than the others, under the directions of the Tamul or Chola
princes, or priests.
I am not aware whether the inscriptions on the monolith Rwiit
have as yet been fully deciphered. It is probable they may throw light
on the era of the Ati Rana Chanda, the lord of kings, who is declared by
the inscription on granite, (north of the pagoda, two miles north of
the place) to have built it; and of the Kama Rajah who founded the
temple to Siva, according to the Sanscrit inscription in the temple of
Ganesa. The antiquity of these inscriptions beyond a certain era may
be negatively inferred from the absence of the date either Vikramaditya
or Salivahana.
The Revd. Mr. Taylor, who has catalogued the Mackenzie inscriptioDS,
states, that he has not met with inscriptions with a defined year higher
* Journal Royal As. Soc. Part. 1, No. XV, p. 88.
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1846.] from Peimaur to Ptmdicherry, 213
up than the 10th centiuy*. I have only met with one of the 9th
centory on stone, hut copper grants have been found with earlier dates
extending to the 5th century.
Pondicherry. — From Murtandi to Pondicherry, the loose sandstone of
the Red hills extends on the right, and a sand-covered beach on the
left. The nature of the substrata at Pondicherry has already been de-
scribed in the notes from Pondicherry to Beypoor.
A Canal Act of the Emperor Akbar, with eome notea and remarks on the
History of the Western Jumna Canals. By Lieut. Yulb, Engineers,
First Assist. W. J. C.
For the following translation of a Decree of the Emperor Akbar«
forming an interesting Appendix to the History of the Canals, given by
Colonel Colvin in the 2nd volume of the Journal of the A. S., I am
indebted to the kindness of Capt. S. A. Abbott, in charge of the Kythal
district, who obtained the Persian copy from the parties named below,
residents of Dh&trat, a town on the southern boundary of Kythal, just
at the point where the Hansi branch of the Western Jumna canals
enters the Chitang Nalli, in the old channel of which, deepened and
widened, the canal waters flow to their termination at Bah^eri, in the
Bikaner territory.
Translation of a Sanad of Akbar Sh&h B&dsh&h, dated month of Shaw^,
A. H. 978, [A. D. 1568] at F^ozptir, in the Province of Lahaur.
Obtained from Abdul Samad and Abdul Mustakim, Pirz&dahs at
Dhtoat, being four leaves abstracted from a book which bears the
appearance of considerable antiquity.
" My Government is a tree, the roots of which are firm in the earth,
and being watered by the waters of God's grace, its branches reach to
Heaven. In acknowledgment of God's mercy in establishing this great
empire, my desire, purer than water, is to supply the wants of the poor ;
Madras Journal, No. 30, p. 41.
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214 A Canal Act of the Emperor Akbar, [No. 171.
and the water of life in my heart is larger thui the sea, with the wish to
dispense benefits, and to leave permanent marks of the greatness of my
Empire, by digging canals, and founding cities, by which too the
revenues of the Empire will be increased.
** God says, sow a grain, and reap 8evenfold(a). My desire is to reap
one-hundredfold, that my crown may become wealthy, and that the
zamindars may obtain double returns.
*' The seeds sown in this world, are reaped in the next.
" The Omnipotent God gives power to whom he pleases.
" The following is the best purpose to which my wealth can be applied,
viz. —
" The Chitang Naddi, by which Firoz Sh&h B^sh&h, two hundred and
ten years ago, brought water from the nfilto and drains in the vicinity
of 8&dhaura(6), at the foot of the hills, to H&nsf and Hiss^. and by
which for four or five months in the year water was then available, has,
in the course of time, and firon numerous obstades, become so choked,
tiiat for the last hundred years, the waters have not flowed past the
boundary of Kythal, and thence to Hiss&r, the bed has become so ohok*
ed, that it is scarcely disoemibk ; since which time, the inhabitants of
those parts have become parched with Uurst^c), and their gardens dried
up. ^
'^ Now that I have given the district (Sark&r) of Hiss&r to the great,
the fortunate, the obedient, ^e pearl of the sea of my kingdom, the star
of my government, the praised of the inhabitants of the sea and land,
the apple of my kingdom's eye, my son Sultioi Muhamad SaMm
Bah&dur(d), (may God grant him long life and greatness) ; my wisdom
wishes that the hopes, like the fields of those thirsty people, may, by
the showers of liberality and kindness, be made green and flourishing,
(a) <* The umilitude of those who lay out their substancet for advancing the religion
of God, is as a grain of corn which produceth seven ears, and in each ear a hundred
gninB "^Sale's JTordn, CA. //.
(5) S&dhaura, a town of the Amb&l& diatrict, about twenty miles wes4 of th^ Juana.
The river flowing past S&dhaura is the Markanda, but the sources of the Chitang are
only seven or eight miles distant
(c) In Haii&n& the springa hav« been vaised, aince the canal waa re-opaned, in
some instances as much as sixty feet.— Capt* taker's Report on the Sutl^ and Junna
Canal.
id) Afterwards the Emperor Jah&ngfr, who was at this time under two years of
age, ** The Sirk&r of Hiss&r Firozeb, ever since the conquest of Hindoostan by the
Moguls, has constituted the personal estate of the heirapparentof the empire"— iteiwc^
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and that the canal may, in my tune« he renewed, and that hy conduoting
other waters into it. it may endure for ages.
" For God has said, from water all things were made. I consequently
ordain, that this jungle, in which suhsistence is obtained with thirst, be
converted into a place of comfort, free from that evil,
" Consequently, in the year of the Hijra 977, my Farm^, bright as the
sun, and obeyed by all the world, went forth ; that the waters of the n^Ms
and streams at the foot of the hills at Khizr^bid(e), which are collected
in the Sonb river and flow into the Jumni^ be brought by a canal, deep
and wide« by the help of bunds, &c. into the Chitang Naddf, which is
distant from that place about one hundred kos(/), and that the canal he
excavated deeper and wider than formerly, so that all the waters may be
available at the above mentioned cities, (Hansi and Hiss^) by the
year 978.
" Behold the power of God, how he brings to life land that was dead(^).
" Truly a canal is opened, aud from the source to the mouth, although
the zamindars and cultivators take by cuts abundance for their crops,
it is still sufficient to meet the domand.
" Because this canal was renewed for the sake of my beloved son, in
eompliment to him, whom, in his childhood, I call Shekho, and because
in Hindustani a canal is called Nat, I have called this canal the Shaikh
Nai(h).
" And whereas Muhamad Kh^ Tarkh^ was superintendent of this
work from first to last, I have conferred upon him the office and title of
Mlr-^b.
[Here follows a flourish of the writer of the Sanad.]
" The following vcqrses have arisen from the ocean of my heart to the
shores of my lips :
" Muhamad Akbar Ghazi Jal^uddin.
" He is the king of this age, and equal to king Jamshaid.
(c) Khizr&b&d, a Sikh town near the debouchement of the Jumna from the Hills,
and the present Delhi Canal head.
(/) Dh&tMt, where the present canal joins the Chitang, is by the line of the banks
about 130 miles (pretty exactly 100 kos of the country) from Khisr&b&d.
(g) God sendeth down water from Heaven, and causeth the Earth to revi?e, alter
it hath been dead.— iS'afe'^ Kor^, Ch, XVL
(A) This title appears to haye been very short lived. I am not aware that the word
"Hai is now applied in this sense in any of our canal districts, but 1 learn that it is the
Pai44bi corruption of AEaddt, and is comiiionly applied hy the Sikhs to a viveror water-
course. The valley of the Ghagar is called Va^u
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216 A Canal Act of the Emperor Akbar, [No. 171.
*' His throne is the throne of Fariddn and Kai.
*' He is like unto Khizr, and from the waters of his generosity every
thing has life.
<* He is sach a king, that from the canal of his liberality, the garden of
the world is green all the year roond.
" A canal by his orders was carried to Hiss^ ;
" For the sake of the Prince Salim of blessed steps.
" A canal like milk, and that milk full of fish ;
" Its waters like honey, and pleasanter than wine.
" The king in his great kindness gave Muhamad Salim the title of
Shekho, because his Fir (spiritual patron) was a Shaikh(t).
« He consequently called this canal Shaikh Nai.
" May the Bddshdh and Prince live for ever.
" The date of excavating this canal is to be found in the following
words : —
4^^
** Tarkh&n obtained the title of Mir-^b for his labours, because he car-
ried the waters of the canal in every direction.
** As long as the new moon, like a boat, sails in the waters of the blue
heavens, so long may the waters of this king's generosity irrigate the
garden of the world.
" Whereas I have ordered that the waters be collected in this canal,
and that it be made so wide and deep to Hiss&r, that boats may ply
upon it in every part ; it is my will that the superintendent build bridges
and bunds wherever nece8sary(A), that at the season of cultivation a
sufficient supply of water be given to all who aided in excavating the
canal, and they obtain water all the year round.
(t) It is said that Akbar having had no child who survived infancy, made a pil-
grimage to offer his prayers for posterity at the shrine of Mugfnuddin Chishtfat, 4)-
mir. He was there directed to seek the intercession of the Shaikh Salim Chishtfa
Sfkrf ; and shortly afterwards the favourite Sultana was delivered of a son, who in
honour of the saint was called Shekho SaHm. A village on the canal near Hiss&r
bears the name of Salfma Shekhopoor.
^•^"^ hf ii) t cf ir <> S-* '
(k) The only old bridges now existing between the canal head and Uansi are, that
called the Gharaunda bridge, near Karnal, and one at Safidan ; both massive
structures with pointed arches.
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1846.] on the Western Jumna Canals. 217
" Also, that on both sides of the canal down to Hisa^r, trees of every
description, both for shade and blossom, be planted(Q, so as to make it
like the canal under the tree in Paradise, and that the sweet flavour of
the rare fruits may reach the mouth of every one, and that from these
luxuries a voice may go forth to travellers, calling them to rest in the
cities where their every want will be supplied, and I trust that, from the
blessing attending this charity, the garden of goodness may remain ever
green, that the benefits of the blessing may be incalculable, and that
from it, I may obtain eternal reward.
" Thanks be to God who has enabled me to do this, which, without his
instruction, I should not have performed.
" It is necessary that every one acknowledge the person appointed to
this work, and recognize no partner with him.
" Should it be necessary to construct a bund, or any other work on the
canal, all Shikkdars(m), Ghaudris, Mukaddams, and Rayats, whether
of the Khalsa or of other Parganahs, will give the necessary assistance
in labourers, &c. and delay not.
" Every Parganah will be satisfied with the number of cuts made by the
Mir-&b, and take no more, and on every occasion abide by his directions.
He has the power to punish as he sees fit every one who takes water
out of season ; whoever disobeys his orders will, after investigation, be
.punished as an example to others.
*' The superintendent is particularly cautioned to see that the cuts in
every Parganah are equally and justly distributed, and in this matter to
consider every one on an equality ; not to permit the strong to oppress
the weak, and so to act as to please both 6od and man.
". The inhabitants of both sides of the canal will abide by these orders,
and obey all the high, enlightened, concise. &c. &c. farmans of the king."
This document will be regarded as a very curious one by all who
take interest in the past history, as well as in the present and prospec-
tive utility of the canals of Hindustan, suggesting as it does a fact which
history appears to have forgotten, and which we have not ascertained
(/) Excepting a few of the different kinds of Fict», scarcely any old trees now ex-
ist on the canal banks. ,
(m) S/ukkd&r, a revenue officer.
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218 A Canal Act of the Emperor Akbar, [No. 171.
without Bome degree of pleasure, namely, that the Jumna canals, as a
perennial eource of supply to a thirsty land» owe their origin to the great-
est of Indian princes.
The question, however^ is a difficult one on account of the univeml
prevalence of the belief that Firoz Shdh drew a canal /rom the Jumna to
HissAr, and from the obscurity of the accounts of the various cha&neli
excavated by that king. The only books bearing on the subject to
which I have access, are Dow's Firishta, and Rennel's Memoir on the
Map of India.
The words of Firishta are as follows :— " In the year 757, between
the hills of Mendouli and Sirmoor, he (Firoz) cut a channel from the
Jumna, which he divided into seven streams ; one of which he brought
to Hansi, and from thence to Raeesen, where he built a strong castle,
calling it by his own name. He drew, soon after, a canal from the
Gagar, passing by the walls of Sirsutti, and joined it to the rivulet of
Kera, upon which he built a city, named after him Firozeabad. This
city he watered by another canal from the Jumna. "(ii)
The seven streams I cannot explain. " Raeesen, (though this name
is not now recognizable) where he built a strong castle, calling it by
his own name," is doubtless Hissar Firozah, or "the castle of Firoz."
The remainder of the sentence seems almost inextricable from its
obscurity, and probably, as Major Rennel suggests(o), contains a jumble,
arising from the multitude of excavations made by King Firoz, and the
number of cities to which he gave his name. There appears, however,
no reason to believe, according to Rennel's hypothesis, that a canal
was ever brought to Delhi before the time of Sh4h Jah&n.
The city of Sirsutti, which Major Rennel is a little puzzled to
fix, would seem to be Sirsa, for the following reasons — It was (Rennel
. fn) Dow's Firishta, I* 305. A more exact translation than Dow's of the passages
relating to the excavations of Ffros, fnnn a copy of Firishta in the palace library
at Delhi, is given by Mr. Seton, Resident at Delhi, in a letter to Government, on the
subject of restoring the canals, dated September lith, 1807. But, in the words quoted,
there is no material difference, except in the names of Hansi and Raeesea, which
Dow writes HoMt and Beraittn, Bat the system of water carriage on the canals
which Dow attributes to Ffros in the following sentence, appears to be a mere em-
bellishment.
(o) ** It may probably be a jumble of two sentences, which relate to diffsrdnt cities
together. The rtoer JSTera, and Firozeabad may relate to the city of Ffroiepoor, at
the conflux of the Sutlege and Beyah, and the canal from the Jumnah to Ffroseabad,
a city founded by FfroE in the vicinity of old Delhi. « « « • Capt. Kirkpatriek
notices an obscurity in the text of Firishta in this place.->il«fiiie/, page 74.
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1846.] on the Western Jumm Qmah. 219
p. 76) at the end of Tonor's third march from Bhatnor to Samluui, and
four marches diatant from the latter place. Now Sirea lies directly
in tiie road from Bhatner to Samfina; it is upwards of forty miles
distsat from the former and about eighty-five from the latter. This
is easily reeondlsMe with the number of marches given, especiaUy
as two of these seven are stated to have amounted to 32 kos; which,
if we take somewhat under 60 miles, the remaining five marches would
average 14 miles each, and three such marches would just give the
distance from Bhatner to Sirsa. Eirishta also states that Timur having
taken and pillaged tiie town of Battenize (Bhatner), and after that
Smmsth advanced to Fattehabad(p). This seems to fis the identity of
Sirsutti with Sirsa. But again, Ibn Batnta relates, that on his journey
from Muk6n to Dehli, after travelling four days from Ajddahan, he
arrived at the city of Sirsutti, a large place abounding in rice, which was
carried thence to Dehli. And from Sirsutti he proceeded to HansiC^).
Now Sirsa is about 100 miles distant from Ajodin, (or ¥iik Patau)
on the Gharra, in the direct line towards Hansi. And the rich valley
of the Ghagar might weU supply the abundant rice crops.
The canal then which Firoz drew from the Ghagar under the waUs of
Sirsutti, is in all probability the Cho]ra nlili, which issues from the
Ghagar near Mdnak, passes close to Krsa, and bears erident traces
of having been piurtially, at least, an excavated, channd(f). The men-
tion of its junction with " the rivulet of Kera" is indeed unintelligi-
ble. The nlil6 in fact joins the Ghagar again, not hi from Sirsa,
and a short distance bek)w their union, the Revenue map shows a village
called Firoaabad. I should be curious to know if at this village exist
any remains of greatness, from which we might suppose it to be the
dtf alluded to by Fiririita.
The remainder of the senlenee we must leave alone. Hissir Flrozah
might indeed have been watered by a canal from the Ghagar as weU as
from the Jumna(«), but certainly not by a canal from the GHiagar
passing under the walls of Krsutti or Sirsa.
(p) Dow II. p. 4.
(9) Ibn Batata, p. 110.
(r) See Gapt Baker's printed report on the Ghagar.
(s) An(l probably was. For the late M^or Brown traced an old channel from the
▼icinlty of the Ghagar, in the direction of Hiss&r. This, however, the natives called
an old bed of the Sirsatti river. But the Sirsatti has a gift of ubiquity I
2g
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220 A Canal Act of the Emperor Akbar, {No. 171.
Major Rennel's words with regard to the Hisa&r canals are as follows :
*' It appears that previous to the building of Hiss^, Firoz had
made a canal from the Jumna, near the northern hills, to Safid^
a royal hunting place ; for the purpose of supplying it with water.
This canal was in length. 30 royal cosses or full 60 G. miles; and it
passed by KamlU and Toghlukpoor. After the foundations of Hisa^
were laid, he drew two principal canals to it ; one of which was a pro-
longation of the canal of Safiddn, the whole extent of which was then
80 (common) cosses, or about 1 14 G. miles. The other principal canal
was drawn from the Sutlege river to Hiss&r Firozabad. The outlet
and course of this canal is not so clearly defined as the other : Capt.
Kirkpatrick, to whom I am indebted for the information concerning
Hissdr and its canals, had it from a history of Firoze written by
Shumse Seraje, soon after the death of that great monarch which hap-
pened in 1388."
With regard to this Sutlege canal to Hissar Firozah having ever
been successfully executed, we may feel sceptical. The only line within
possibility would be from the neighbourhood of Rupar to the Sirhind
n^&, and thence crossing the Ghagar into the Hiss^ district, according
to the general line sketched by Capt. Baker in 1841. But leaving this
and turning to the Safiddn canal, we remark that in Hodgson and
Herbert's map, a branch of the Ghitang is represented as quitting the
main channel and passing within a short distance of Safiddn(Q. And this,
guided by the Sanad before us, we might suppose to be the original canal
of Firoz, were not the statement so distinct that his canal was drawn
from the Jumna. Toghlukpdr I have no knowledge of, but the mention
of Kamid points to the existing line of canal, as the Chitang is ten
miles distant from that city. It is difiicult to doubt this evidence, and
yet it is almost equally difficult to throw overboard the clear statement
of Akbar's Sanad, It is indeed possible that Firoz may have connected
the Chitang at a much higher point of its course with the Jumna, by
a cut which could only convey a supply of water into the niM when the
river was at high levels ; or that a canal from the Jumna was by Firoz
Sh^ attempted unsuccessfully, upon which recourse was had to the
(<) ** Of this branch all I am aware of is, that in seasons heavy of rain great floods
pour into the canal near Barod, said to be consequent on the destruction of the earthen
dams of the ChiUng.— Co/. Coltfin in J. A, S. 11. 106.
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1846.] oa the Wetterm Jmnna Canals. 221
temporary supply derivable from the Chitang, and as the latter flows for
sixty miles almost parallel to the Jumna and at no great distance from
it, a misrepresentation thus arose. Otherwise we can only suppose that
Akbar, in self-glorification, falsely represented his own renewal and re-
pair of lus predecessor's work, as an original enterprize of his own.
Singularly enough the SoMod itself does not speak of the new canal
having been fed from the Jumna, but " from the n&Uis and streams at
the foot of hiUs which are collected in the Sonb river and flow into the
Jumna." But the Emperor speaks of his canal as capable of supplying
water all the year round, and the Jumna is the only accessible source of
such a supply. Doubtless then as noijr, the supply of water crossed the
Sonb, that is, flowed inio it and again out of it, so that the canal
might with truth be said, to be drawn from n^^ collected in the
Sonb.
It is certainly somewhat singular that Firishta, who flourished in the
latter part of Akbar's reign, and has made prominent mention of the an-
cient excavations of Ffroz, should not have alluded to this work. But
the historian residing in the Deccan had probably no personal know-
ledge of the work, whilst contemporary documents would be less ac-
cessible than those relating to past times. It is true also that the
Hansi canal is still known universally as the Canal of Firoz, and the
name fondly bestowed by Akbar in honour of his infant heir has been
utterly forgotten(tf). But new names always adhere loosely among
the many : DeMi and Agra are likely to outlive the remembrance of
Shdhfdhdudhdd and Akbardbdd, and though the canab have had as many
names as a Parisian place during the Revolution(v), yet Nahr Ffrozah,
the first name known to the people, keeps its place in their mouths.
There seems no good reason to doubt the genuineness of the Sanad.
It is dated in the month of Shawfl A. H. 978, from Firozpdr in the
Sdbah of Lahaur. Now it appears from Firishta, that Akbar, on the
(ti) Akbar appears to ha?e been particularly fond of this kind of nomenclature.
He called the new Sdbah of Kandfsh Ddndish, after his son Daniel.— f'/Zenne/.j
(0) Some of these names are—
Nahr Ffrozah.
Shaikh Nai.
Nahr Bihisht.
Fyz Nahr,
Sh&h Nahr.
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222 A Canai Act of the Emperor Akbar, C^o. 171.
birth of his son Marid, in the first month of 978, went on a pilgrimage
to the shrine of Muyinuddin at Ajmir, thence by way of Nagor and
Ajodin on the Sutluj to Lahaur, which he qtiitted for Ajmir and Agia
in the second month of 979. So that he might well have been at
Firozpdr on the date g^ren.
It is easy to concdTe how the canals fell into decay. In the decline
of the imperial power, when the irrigated country was a seat of constant
war, and the lands along the banks were aiienated among Tarious chiefs,
any system of conservancy became impossible, and the works most ra-
pidly have been mined. The Hansi canal was the first to suffer, as
early as 1 707, we are told(i9), the 6ikhs taking advantage of the weakness
of government during the contentions of Aurang Zeb's sons for die
empire, converted the whole of the canid waters to theur own nae.
And this at once reducing the country around Hiss^ to its original ste-
rility, forced almost the whole of the inhabitants to seek a more favour-
able soil. A hundred years afterwards, in 1807 (as we are told by an
officer on Survey in the Sikh States at that time), there was not a single
inhabitant in the extensive city of Hissfir(d?). The Dehli canal, or
Ali Mardin Khan's branch, continued to flow to a much later period.
The officer just referred to learned, from aged zamindars, that the oonn-
try had been deprived of the advantages of this canal since the accession
of Alamgir II. in 1 763. The same authority informed him tiiat for pur-
poses of canal police, and the ready repair of accidents, a Darogha was
stationed at every three or four koss, with peons and beld&rs under him.
The water rent appears to have been regulated by the time that the
outlets remained open. 1000 armed peons and 600 horse, as Mr.
Seton was informed by the son of one of the last native superinten-
dents,(y) were maintained on the establishment. According to a pro-
verlnal expression current at Dehli, the net revenue from the canals
was reckoned equal to the maintenance of 12,000 hane{z).
As Colonel Golvin's paper on the history of the canals contains few
dates, it may be worth while to add the following : —
(w) Letter dated May 1807, from Lieut F. White, Surveyor to the Resident at
Dehli. In the Office of the G. G. A. N. W. P.
(«) Ditto ditto.
(y) Letter from Mr. Seton to Govt. 11th September, 1807.
(«) Ditto ditto.
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CkrontUofify of the Western Jumna Canals,
A. D. 1351, — Firoz Sh4h brought a stream down the channel of the
. Ohitang to Hansi and Hiss^.
Abwt 1468.-^The watmn of the above named channel ceased to flow
fbrther than the lands of Kythal.
A. D. 1568.-«Akbar re-excaTated the work of Firoz and brought a
supply from the Jumna and 8onb, by the present line,
into the Chitang.
Abemt l626.-^Firom the last named line, Ali Mardfin Khlb drew a
canal to Dehli; first by way of Goh&n&, and afterwards,
on that failing, by the present channel, passing near
Paniput and Soneput.
A. D. 1707. — ^The water ceased to reach Hari^a.
„ 1740. — Ceased to flow at Safiddn.
.. 1753 1
to VThe Dehli branch ceased to flow.
,. 1760 J
„ 1817.-— Gapt. Blane appointed to restore the Dehli Canal.
„ 1820. — ^The water again entered Dehli.
„ 1823.— Restoration of Firoz's, or the Hansi branch commenced.
„ 1825.— The water turned down.
SMa : November ist, 1845.
P. 8.— Oapt. Abbott having, since the above was written, famished
me with a copy of the ori^nal Persian of the Sanad, it is enclosed. I
have also since ascertained that the Ayin Akberi makes no mention of
Akbar's having engaged in this work, which is singular.
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224
Notes, chiefly Geobgkal, an the fVeatem Coasi of South India.
By Capi. Nbwbold.
I have not yet had an opportunity of examining the Western Coast
from Cape Comorin to Beypoor, but by specimens received thence,
and by information from General Cuiien^ l^terite is doubtless the pre-
valent surfitoe rock. General CuUen writes me that he has found a bed
of lignite, in the laterite at KarkuUy, about fifteen miles south of Quilon,
in a stratum of dark shales and clays. At Cape Comorin itself are
beds of sandstone, and shell limestone^ of which a good account is adesi-
deratum.
CaHeui.'^ At Calicut^ the ancient capital of the Zamorin, (a cormp.
tion by the Portuguese for Raja Samudri) and the landing place of
Albuquerque on the shores of India, laterite is also the prevalent rock.
The modern town exhibits few traces of this once frimous city. Of
the old fort scarcely a vestige remains beyond a ruined doorway, the
traces of a fosse and counterscaip, some mounds marking the southern
gateway, and the site of a few bastions.
Another fort, it is said, was built by Tippoo; but this too has been
destroyed ; and the present shoal of Calicut was pointed out to me
by an old native as the site of a still older fort overwhelmed by the
sea. Tradition states that the place where the Syrians landed near
Quilon is also engiilfed.*
The modern town is a large assemblage of garden houses, on a low
sandy sea coast, under a grove of cocoanut and jack trees, and extend-
ing a considerable distance inland. A broad street runs down to the
sea through the midst of this scattered town. The houses flanking
it are usually contiguous, built of laterite, or brick and chonam,
whitewashed.
The streets, that branch off from it to the right and left, are narrow,
winding, and dirty, like those in the oldest parts of Lisbon. Here
dwell the Moplay and other native merchants.
On the beach fiicing the sea runs a row of warehouses for timber,
coir rope, split bamboos and other marine stores. The rope is manu-
factured on the spot.
* Madras Journal, No. 30, p. 146.
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Notes, chiefly Geological, Sgc. 225
In the roadsteftd I observed native craft only. The boats used for
oommanication with the shore, though composed of planks sewn
together with coir» like the Massoolah boats at Madras, differ from them
in being lighter, lower, and flat-bottomed, and are extremely pointed at
the stem and stem. As the surf here is much less powerful than on
the Coromandel Coast, a boat of a heavier description is not required.
The laterite continues, by Mahe and Tellicherry, to Cannanore, a
little north of whidi it overlies some carbonaceous looking clay, and
slate clay. Lateritic iron ore is found at Augadipur, Satimangalum,
and many other places throughout Malabar ; iron sand (magnetic) in
most of the ghaut streams. Gold dust is also found in similar localities,
especially in Wynaad and Emaad, and other places elsewhere specified.
Payengal^, — Payengady is about sixteen miles NNW. from Ganna-
nore, and stands on the sea coast near a back water. A coup dtceU from
the rising ground near the village presents a low flat, stretching between
an inland ridge and the sea ; and which has all the appearance (tf
having been covered by the sea up to the base of the laterite cliffs.
This flat is for the most part covered by marine sand, and thinly
scattered with houses shaded by cocoanuts. A few marine shells
were found at the base of the difb about a mile inland. Whether
drifted by the wind or conveyed here by the sea under former condi-
tions is uncertain.
The hills in the back ground stretch out like promontories, termina-
ting abruptly at the inland edge of the flat.
The laterite overlies granitic and hypogene rocks. Between Covai
and Cautcutcherry the Nelisir back water is crossed from Malabar to
Circar Canara, or from Malayala to Tuluva, where Canarese is spoken
and Malayalum ceases.
Casaergode* — The laterite continues the sur&ce rock by Hossdroog,
Bekul, and Chundergherry, to Cassergode. It rests as usual on gra-
nitic and hypogene rocks ; which, near fiekul, are veined with quartz,
and imbed garnets and amethystine quartz, fragments of which are
numerous in the sand on the shore. There is also a black magnetic
iron sand derived probably from the dark and beautifully crystalline
hornblende schists. The strike of strata is westerly : the dip is confused,
often vertical. The fort stands on laterite, capping basaltic greenstone.
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226 Noies, chiefly Geological, [No. 171.
The soil on the rice flats is a rich mould, deposited in part by the
rivers in their passage to the sea from the ghauts. These bring down
a considerable portion of the decayed vegetable matter of the deaae
jung leson their banks, mingled with Uie detritus of granitic hypogene
rocks, and of the laterite. When lateritic detritus is in excess, vege.
table matter is added by the natives as a manure. Inland, to the
NE., the granitic masses of Jumalabad, Murbiddry, and CareuUa rise
above the sur&ce, the former to a great height, almost inaccessible from
the steepness of its sides.
Mangalore. — Laterite is stiH the surfiMse rock as before obserred.
The numerous back waters or marine lagoons, which lie along the
Malabar Coast, are formed at the mouths of rivers by sand bars thrown
up by the antagonizing forces of the mountain torrents and the tidal
wave. These sand bars are liable to be broken through, and alter their
position by the force of extraordinary storms. Their beda afford ia*
struetive examples of the manner in which both fresh water aod
marine exuviss may be mingled and embedded in the same stratam.
Numerous sand dunes also occur at the embouchures of rivers near
back waters. These tranquil marine lagoons greatly facilitate native
commerce along the coast*
Kundapur.-^khoMi a mile inland from the present embouchure of
the Kundapur river, stands the town of Barcelore, the supposed
Barace of Ptolemy: a place (d great traffic in former tines with
Arabia and Egypt, and which is supposed to have stood upon the \)ld
embouchure of the river before the land gained upon the sea.
Vicramaditya, or his dynasty, is said to have ruled 2,000 years at
Barcoor (Barcelore), and, afiber him Salivahana, to whom tucoeeded
Buddha Penta Raja and the Bijanugger dynasty. A human aaerifiee,
offered up to increase ito oommeree, is alluded to in the Mackeiine M8S.
I observed near the old Pagoda at Knndapur, an inscription en stone,
which opportunity did not permit me to copy. Barcelwe is stiU a place
of great native trade.
The present bar at the river's mouth does not admit vessels of
more than fifty or sixty corges, whidi find secure anchorage under the
lee of the north bank. Its entrance was protected by a battery built
by Hyder, and an old fort now in ruins.
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1846.] on the Western Coast of South India. 227
Honafwr (OnoreJ and Sedaakepur. — ^Tbe geology of Honawer, or
Onore, has already been touched upon. SuflSce it to say, that laterite
is the prevalent rock.
Sedaehegur is about 168^ miles, northerly from Mangalore, about
three miles south of the southern fnmtier of the Portuguese terri-
tory of Goa. The western ghauts here advance boldly to the ocean
and affbrd some points of view, which truly approach the magnifi-
cent. The back ground of the picture is filled with the wild moun-
tain scenery of the ghauts, from whose forests issues the Kali, or
Black River, to the Indian Sea in the fore ground, expanding into a
broad and beautiful lake near its embouchure, and stretching between
two bdd promontories, the northernmost of which is crowned by the
picturesque ruins of the old fort which once guarded the entrance.
Across the mouth of the river runs a sand bar, over which at high
water there is a draught of about two and three-quarter futhoms. Vessels
of about forty corge^ find a snug anchorage within the bar ; and boats
of frt>m twenty to twenty-five corges pass up the river eighteen miles
to Mallapur, where there is a salt depot. They carry, up salt-fish
and salt from Gokum, and bring back rice and firewood, chiefly for
the Goa and Bombay markets. Mr. Oakes attempted to make this a
depot for the cotton shipped from the interior to Bombay, &c., as
being a much more convenient harbour, and nearer Bombay than that
of Kompta. But the project failed in consequence of the opposition
of the Gujerati merchants of Kompta, who were averse to quitting
their Mamool village.
The formation of the ghauts near Sedashegur to the south, is chiefly
granite with gneiss and hornblende schist, penetrated often by large
dykes of basaltic greenstone, which at their base are covered partially
by laterite. Their summits, I had no opportunity of examining.
A little south of Sedashegur, between Ancola and Chendaya, the
beach of a small and pretty indentation of the sea is strewed with nodules
of a stiff black day, resembling in colour that of the lignite deposit at
Beypoor : the situs cannot be very far distant. Iron is said to be smelted
at Gopdiatta.
The soil is usuaUy a sandy loam. The staple articles of cultivation
are rice, cocoanuts, sugarcane and raggi. The latter and hill.rice
2h
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228 Notes, chiefly Geological, [No. 171.
occupy the dry lands and cleared sides of the moantains (like the
wheat on the high sierras of Spain,) while the irrigated flats of the Tal-
lies smile with abundant crops of paddy and sugar-cane. Yearly the
mountains blaze with the fires of the clearers, who are obliged, like
the Malays, to shift from one spot to another as the soil of the clearing
becomes exhausted.
. The fort, it is said, was built by the Soday Rajas of Sircy, from whom
the Portuguese wrested* it. It next fell with Anoola and Gokum
into the hands of Hyder, and eventually into those of the English.
I observed about thirty-two guns, apparently of Portuguese manu-
facture, lying about.
At present (1840), Sedashegur (Siveswargur) contains about 600
houses, inhabited principally by Concanni Mahrattas engaged in culti-
vation, by Christians from Goa, Cojnarapaiks, and Mussulmans. Three
n\iles north commences the Kankana region, where that of Tuluva
terminates. Near the junction, the two languages, viz. Canarese and
Mahratta, are mixed. The old inscriptions on stone at Ookurn and
other places /south of this, are mostly in the old Canarese language
and character. Some of the earlier ones belonging to the ninth century
of the Salivahana era, show that this part of the country was under
the sway of the kings of the Cadumba dynasty of Bunwassi ; and those
of the fifteenth century show the extension of the Bijanugger empire
to the western coast.
Gokum, about thirty miles south of Sedashegur, is one of the sacred
places of Hindu pilgrimage, ranking with Tripati, Ramisseram, Jug-
gemath, Sondur and Sri Sailam or Perwut.
It is the reputed scene of Parasuram's exploits, who raised the whole
of the western coast from the ocean's bed to the base of the ghauts, and
divided the new born territory among the Brahmans. Many subdivi*
sions of this tract, and other changes, are known to have taken place at
various historical epochs ; for instance, the tract from Honawer to 6o-
kurn was called Haiga ; but it is probable the three provinces as they
now exist, viz. the Concan, (or Kankana) ; Canara (or Tuluva) ; Mala-
bar or Travancore (or Kerala), distinguished by the Mahratta, Canarese,
and Malayalum languages, were the original geographical and political
divisions of the western coast of India, After descending the ghauts.
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1846.] on the Western Coast of South India. 229
with the physical aspect of the country, the vegetable, animal, and
social systems undergo a striking change. A new language strikes the
ear, and the eye is astonished at the sight of the wives and daughters
of the upper classes, walking abroad naked from the waist upwards.
The houses of towns and villages, instead of being huddled together as
in the Carnatic, are widely separated in gardens or desams like the
Malay Campong, and the generality of inhabitants struck me as re-
sembling Malays in their habits and customs. The singular right of
inheritance enjoyed by the sister's son is precisely similar to that of
the Menangcabowe Malays. Sheep are no longer seen, and instead of
the fine oxen of Coimbatore, one sees a miserable breed of black cattle,
hardly larger than donkies. The peculiar manners and customs of the
various castes are too various for detail here.
Goa and Maiwan. — Laterite covering granite and the hypogene
rocks, continues from Sedashegur to Goa, and probably from Goa by
Vingorla to the north of Maiwan.
At Maiwan gneiss occurs, and a bright magnetic iron ore, resem-
bling that of Salem, disseminated in grains and nests, or in alternate
layers with quartz. The rocks off the coast, washed by the breakers
from their white colour and shape have the appearance of a boat under
sail.
Mr. Eraser describes the overlying trap as coming down to Maiwan,
but I did not meet with it on the coast till 1 rea(fhed the village of
Sarki.
Sarki, — I had no opportunity of examining the rock^ at Ratnagherry,
which lies between Maiwan and Sarki : but the contour of the ghauts
here is apparently trappean. At Sarki the trap hills descend towards
the coast in long, flat-topped, walUlike promontories, becoming higher
and wilder around Sevemdroog.
Bancoot or Fori Victoria, — Th6 trap rises from the sea beach in a
high steep rock, on the western extremity of which stands the fort com.
manding the entrance of the river. The citadel and flag-staff |ire
conspicuous objects at sea. The town extends, at the base of the rock,
towards the sea, and is well studded by cocoanut trees.
The rocks in the little bay of Shiwurdin are dark basalt and amyg.
daloid, imbedding zeolites, geodes and veins of chalcedony and quartz.
At the water's edge the basalt is much honeycombed.
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230 Notes, chiefly Geological, [No. 171.
The outline of the ghaats in the back ground is bold and pictur- '
esque. A little to the north, the mountains of overlying trap attain
their maximum elevation, which never approaches that of the peaks
of granite and hypogene schist farther sou^h, although they sometimes
attain 4,500 feet of altitude above the sea's level.
They usually rise from the low maritime tracts of the Concan in bold
escarpments, broken by steps or terraces, to the table land of the Deccan.
The Cancan, — The foregoing observations from Goa were made
as I was sailing up the coast from Sedashegur in a native pattamar,
with a foul wind to Bombay. After leaving Fort Victoria the wind
became fair, and consequently I had no longer any opportunity of
going ashore and examining the Concan between Bombay and Ban.
coot. The ghauts in this region, we know, are of trap from the obser-
vations of Colonel Sykes. Their long horizontal outline, varied occa.
sionally by truncated conoidal peaks, are characters in which their na-
ture is plainly written.
The rock composing the Concan is chiefly trap. My lamented fnend
Malcolmson found beds of sandstone at Atchera, dipping at a consi-
derable angle to the NW.
As the existence of fossiliferous deposits is by no means improbable
on this low maritime tract, through the rocky fissures of which many
hot springs find vent, and which have not yet been fully examined,
I should strongly recommend its minute geological exploration.
Bombay, — The geology of this and the neighbouring beautiful islets
of Elephanta, Salsette, &c. has been so well and minutely described
by Dr. Thomson, that I shall content myself with observing that th^
> are all of the overlying trap formation, and the rocks composing them
embrace every variety from dark basalt to light coloured amygdaloids
and wackes, from compact to crystalline and porphjrritic.
I must not however omit to mention a curious variety termed
while basalt, of which the base of Sir John Malcolm's statue at
Bombay, if I recollect right, is composed. Externally it often re-
sembles a soft felspathic granular sandstone, white, with a slight shade
of yellow, but it is clearly seen passing into a true, rough, crystalline
trachyte.
It is dug at the quarries of iSalsette, and composes a large part of
the island; some of the granular varieties are extremely hard, and
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1846.] on the Western Coast of South India. 231
take a fine polish. Crystals of glassy felspar occur imbedded when
the rock passes into trachyte porphyry ; but I have never seen it with
scales of mica, assimilating granite, like th^ trachytes of Smyrna and
Mitylene. In some places it has the appearance of a stratified sand,
stone, and in others there can be no doubt of its volcanic origin. In
one place it is felspathic; in the other imbedding rock crystal, and
globules of quarts.
As this curious rock is without parallel in India, a detailed descrip-
tion of its relations with the contiguous trap, and a series of specimens
exhibiting the dilBerent mineral alterations the rock undergoes in
various parts of its mass from the line of contact to its most dis-
tant point from the trap, would be. highly interesting and instructive.
It 18 probable that the molten mass of trap and trachyte may have
here invaded the sandy bed of a lake or sea, and thus become
blended.
The amygdaloid of Bombay, among other beautiful specimens of
the zeolite family, contains that rather rare mineral (in Europe),
apophyllite. Chalcedony in most of it9 varieties, and beautiful agates,
are common.
The temperature of sea water in the harbour of Bombay in April
was 87^ Fahr. a foot below the surfiice. The temperature of air in the
shade was 85'' the time of observation 3 p. m.
The temperature of water in a well at Bombay, 20 feet deep, was
82'' ; (which approaches the mean temperature of the place) : the tem-
perature of air in the shade was 86^ ; time, noon ; month, April. The
temperature of the cave of Elephanta — same month— time, noon —
was 85^ ; the temperature of the water of a well in Elephanta was
750. 5' — temperature of air in the shade at the moment was 8^** ; time
of observation, noon.
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232 [No. 171.
The Coins of Arakan : — The Historical Coins, by Capt, A. P. Phatbb,
Principal Asst, Commr, Arakan,
The art of coining appears to have been introduced among the Ara-
kanese only at a very late period. Their oldest legendary coins were
suggested to them by the coined money of the Mahumudan sovereigns
of Bengal. I say their legendary coins, since it is probable that a medal
similar to that described, and so happily explained by Ideut. Latter
(in the Jour. As. Soc. Vol. XIII. p. 571) was struck in Arakan at a
period much earlier than were the coins now to be noticed. It is indeed ,
certain, that to coin money is a but lately known art among the Bur-
mese race. The term in their language for coin, — ding-ga, — seems not to
be a native word, but adopted from the Hindooee, tu-ka. In ^e domi-
nions of Ava, coined money is still unknown ; payments are made by
silver ingots weighed out as required.
The Arakanese sovereigns no doubt wished to follow the kingly prac-
tice existing in Bengal, of coins being struck in the name of the reign-
ing monarch. We learn from their annals that about the middle of the
fifteenth century of the Christian era, they conquered Bengal as far as
Chittagong, of which they kept possession for about a century. It was
then, that they first struck legendary coins. On the obverse of the earliest
of these, we find the date and the king's nances written in the Burmese
character, together with barbarous attempts at Mahumudan names and
titles ; these they assumed as being successors of Mussulman kings, or as
being anxious to imitate the prevailing fashion of India. Indeed, there is
some reason to believe that Ba-tsau-phyii, a Bdddhist king like the rest,
who ascended the throne A. D. 1459, obtained among his own subjects
the epithet kalamashd, (the son of the Kalama) from havings issued a
coin with the Mahumudan kulima inscribed upon it. The reverse of
most of the earlier coins, contains unintelligible Persian and Nagri in-
criptions. The Arakanese kings were frequently known to their subjects
by names and titles different from those which appear on their coins.
This circumstance will explain a discrepancy observable between the coin-
names of kings given here, and the sovereigns of the same period found
in the list of Arakanese kings, published in the Society's Jour. Vol. XIII.
page 50. The coin-date generally coincides with the year of the king's
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1 846] T^e HistoriaU Coitu of Arakan. 233
accession to the thione ; but in some instances it does not : more than
one coinage having occasionally been issued in the same reign.
Old coins are frequently discovered buried in the ground in various
parts of Arakan. Several valuable ones thus found have been kindly
sent me by Major David Williams, Principal Assistant Commissioner
(then) of Ramree. Many have also been met with, hung as charms or
ornaments round children's necks, which have been retained in families
for several generations. At present I have the means of describing only
a few of those I once possessed ; the greater portion having been lost
when the Society's cabinet was robbed some months ago. All those
now described are of silver, for though a few of mixed metal are to be
met with, their legends do not differ from these.
The oldest Arakanese coin I now possess is that marked No. 1. The
obverse is as follows : —
qq^ Qo6g^ ooo(S ^Gp8gc8ca)oo85og|o
Tbanslatiok.
963. Lord of the White Elephant, Nard-dib-ba-di Tshau-Um Shyd,
Here 963 in the Arakanese era is equivalent to A. D. 1601. Sard-
dih-ba-di is a Pali title signifying I believe " Ruler of men ;" while
Tshaulim Shyd, is nothing more than a barbarous attempt at the Mahu-
mudan title Zalim Shah I The reverse of this coin bears some unintel-
ligible compound of Persian and Nagri letters. The above king stands
No. 17 in the list of Arakanese sovereigns of the Myouh-il dynasty, in
the Jour. As. Soc. 1844, p. 50, under the name of Meng-Rd-dzd-gyL I
long considered the date of this coin to be 863, the first figure on that
I possess being imperfect, and the date 863 corresponding with the
accession of a king styled Meng Rd-dzd in the above mentioned list
No. 8. However, on seeing a duplicate of this coin in the possession of
Lieutenant Fytche, I was struck with the resemblance of the first figure
to a 9 and looking into the Rd-dzd-weng or Arakanese history, I found
Meng»Rd'dzd-gyi mentioned with the Pali and Mahumudan titles (the
latter differing slightly in the spelling) as inscribed on the coin. The
coin must have been struck in the eighth year of his reign.
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234 The Historical Coins of Arakan. [No. 171.
No. 2. The next coin is that of the son and succeBsor of the preced-
ing king ; the obverse bears the following date and inscriptioii : —
e^q Qo6g^ odq6 OG[ogcpG)0 gcogjD^o^o
Tbanslation.
974. Lord of the White Elephant, Wa-ra-dham^ma Rd-dzd
Oo'Shyoung-shya,
This date is equivalent to A. D. 1612. Wa-ra-dham^ma Rd-dzd is
a Pali title said to signify " Excellent-law-observing king ;" while in
Oo'Shyoung'Shya we have another instance of the barbarous adoption of
a Mahumudan name, it appearing to stand for Hoosein Shah ! This
king was commonly known to his subjects by the name Meng khamoung,*
The reverse of this coin bears like the preceding one an illegible in-
scription in Persian and Nagree.
No. 3. The obverse of this coin has the following date and inscription:—
goq 3o6g^ odq6 Qo6f coo6 c8£[cqogGpG»o
Translation.
984. Lord of the White Elephant, Lord of the Red Elephant,
m-ri'thU'dham-ma Rd^dzd.
This date is equivalent to A. D. 1622. There is no Mahumudan
name on this coin. The Pali title is translated " Excellent righteous
king.'* On the reverse is an illegible Persian and Nagree inscription.
No. 4. This coin, and all those posterior to it, have the same inscrip-
tion on the obverse and reverse. On this one the date and inscription
are as follows : —
0000 s)0(S^ odqS 3o6? odqS ^Q\pS^
Translation.
1000. Lord of the White Elephant, Lord of the Red Elephant,
Na-ra^ba-di'-gyi,
This date answers to^. D. 1638, the very year in which the Historj
of Bengal informs us that the " Mugh Chief who held Chittagong on the
* Khamounff, in Bunnese writing signifies, the '^canopyof state"— being part of
the regalia of their Kings. It is probable that this title Meng Khamoung^wai a
translation of some Mahumudan epithet, which this King took to himself. It may be
rendered, " The Canopy of Kings."— T. L.
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1846.] 'ne Hiitancal Coin$ of Arakan. 285
part of the Raja of Arakan/' delivered it up to the Mogul Viceroy,
Islam Khan. This circumatance accounts for the Persian inscription
bong wanting on this coin. This chief is called in the Bengalee His-
tory, Makat Ray, a corruption of his title Meng*r4, i. e. « War Chief."
No. 5. The date and inscription of this coin are as follows :—
oooT^ Qo6f ooo6 ^>o(Sg ooo(S 000^6 oSsoocps
Translation.
1007. Lord of the Red Elephant, Lard of the White Eiephent Tha-dd
the monarch*
This king does not appear to have been known by any other name
than that here mentioned. The date is equivalent to A. D. 1645.
No. 6. Date and inscription are thus : —
oooq og^^ ooo6 0|o^ogcpGiO
Translation.
1014. Lord of the golden Palace, Tsan-da Thoo-dhaw^ma Rd-dzd.
llie date answers to A. D. 1652. The style of the king is here al-
tered ; he is no longer Lord of the White Elephant, but of the " golden
Falace.*' This style was retained until the fall of the kingdom in A. D.
1784. The Pali title signifies " The moOn-like righteous king."
No. 7. The obverse and reverse run thus :—
Translation.
1047. Lord of the golden Palace, Wa-^ra^dJuKBuma Rd-dtd.
This date is equivalent to A. D. 1685. In the list of Arakanese kings
^ore referred to, the date of this monarch's accession is erroneously
given as 1054.
No. 8. The date and inscription are as follows : —
^0\ J Og^$ 0096 0|8CMXX)
^ Translation.
' 1072. Lord of the golden Palace, Tsan-^a Wi-dza-yd.
This date answers to A. D. 1710.
* The words meng tard might perhaps be interpreted ** Lord pf justice*" Whilst
*«"«w generally refers in the Burmese Language to the " sacred law," tard alludes
to *e "law of the land."-.T. L.
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236 The Historieai Coins of Arakan, [No. 171.
No. 9. Date and inscription.
0069 og|^^ 0098 OlO^^OdCpOtO
Tbanslation.
1093. Lord of the golden Palace, Tsan-da Thu-n-ya Rd-dzd.
This date answers to A. D. 1731.
No. 10. Date and inscription.
00 6 @ Og|^^ OD9(S QSq6lGpG»0
Translation.
1099. Lord of the golden Palace, Mu'da-rit Rd^dzd,
No. 11. Date and inscription.
OOOq Og^? ODQ(S ^qSOODOOCpGiO
Tbakslation.
1104. Lord of the golden Palace, Na^ra-a^pa-ya Rd^dzd,
No. 12. Date and inscription.
00 J 9 og|^$ 0006 ojoqocpao
Tbanslation.
1123. Lord of the golden Palace, Tsan-da Pa-ra-tna Rd^dzd.
No. 13. Date and inscription.
00 J e Og^^ 0006 90ODO0OOD0CpO>0
Translation.
1126. Lord of the golden Palace, A-pa-ya Ma^hd Rd-dzd.
No. 14. Date and inscription.
0^93 99?? ooo(S o|o:^Q^cpo»o
Translation.
1135. Lord of the golden Palace, Tsan^da Thu-ma-na Rd-dzd.
For this coin I am indebted to the kindness of Ueatenant A. Fytcfae»
Jnnior Assistant to the Commissioner of Arakan.
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I
1846.] The HisioriciU C(nn$ of Arakan. 237
No. 15. Date and inscription.
009 e Cg^^ 0006 0|00§OOCpGkO
TSANSLATION.
1139. Lord of the golden Palace, Tsan-da'tha-di'tha Rd-dzd.
No. 16. Date and inscription.
OOqO Cgg^ 000(S OgGp(SGpO>0
Tbanblation.
1140. Lord <f the golden Land, Dham-ma-rit Rd-dzd.
No. 17. Date and inscription.
OOqq Cg^? 0006 QCX)OOOQCX)Gp0>O
Translation.
1144. Lord of the golden Palace, Ma-^d Tha^ma-da Rd-dzd.
This was the last native sovereign of Arakan. In the second year of
his reign being 1146 or A. D. 1784, the Burmese conquered the coun-
try. They immediately issued the next coin.
No. 18. Date and inscription.
Translation.
1146. Conquered country of the Amarapura, many 'White* Elephant -Lord,
This coin was also placed at my disposal by Lieutenant A. Fytche.
Daring the forty years the Burmese held Arakan, they did hot, I believe,
issae a coin with any other date stampt upon it.
There is another coin which has been lent to me by Lieutenant
Latter, and which should have come immediately after No. 9. I now
mark it.
No. 19. Date and inscription.
Translation.
1097. Lord of the golden Palace, Na-ra-pa-wa-ra Rd-dzd.
The date is equivalent to A. D. 1735.
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238 [No. 171.
V The CoiM of Arakan-^The Symbolical Coins. By Lieut, Thos. Lattbb.
The coins of which the accompanying facsimUes are given, are inter-
esting, in that they represent whatever ideas they were intended to con-
vey, by means of pure symbolism alone ; and afford no clue by which
to connect them with any particular prince. They are all, I believe, of
a type peculiar to Trans- Gangetic India. No. 1, was found in the city
of Haleng, in the Empire of Burmah, and has been already described at
some length in a former number of the Society's Journal. It is placed
here for the purpose of shewing how the same type of symbol runs
through the whole. The remainder are peculiar to Arakan, the last
being somewhat common. Knowing these coins to be Buddhistical from
their being found only in localities*^ where no other than that faith has
obtained, and having, as I have already said, no due to justify our con-
necting them with any particular monarch ; it is only by viewing them
as representing by means of symbols certain dogmas, or tenets, (whe-
ther religious, or philosophical) of the Buddhist faith, that we can
hope in any way to resolve their meaning.
In the description of No. 1, I speculated that the side (6) might be
intended to convey a symbolical representation of the cosmology of
Buddhism. The twenty-eight circular figures in the outer ring repre-
senting the twenty-eight Buddhs characteristic of a Mahdgabhha, oc
grand period of nature ; and the five drop-shaped figures within the
circle representing a Buddhagabbha, or lesser period of nature, the pre-
sent period being characterized by the presence of five Buddhs ; which
are therefore made to preside over a curious emblem composed of certain
triangles representing this world in particular. Although I could not
at the time account for the reason why this singular combination should
be able to convey such an idea ; yet in a subsequent paper, (on the
Buddhism of the emblems of architecture), I ventured to suppose (taking
the triangles with their points downwards to represent " water ;" and
those with their apices upwards to typify *' fire ;" that their being made
to meet in a circle, (the universe) with a point in it, (this earth) meant
to convey the belief in the reiterated destruction of the world by fire
and water, whence its PaU name, kmga, from lau, " to be again and
again" renovated and destroyed. It is singular that in the two coins,
Nos. 2 and 3, my interpretation is indirectly corroborated, for in them
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1846.] Tk0 SffmbolktU Coins of Arakan. 239
this emblem of " renovation and destruction/' ia conformably repre-
sented by tbe Bull Nimdi^ the peculiar cognizance of Shiva, the Ood of
" destruction and renovation."
The two last coins are Shivite, but probably appertain to a time when
the emblems of the worship of Shiva, and those of Buddhism had
something in common. Struck perhaps by this similarity as well as
by their novelty, they seem to have been adopted by some of the
Princes of Arakan. The fact of the characters on them being Pali does
not in any way militate against this supposition, as the Burman Alpha-
bet IB but a modification of the Pali, and the similarity of the two in-
creases in proportion to the earHness of the date. We see on these coins
the Buddhist triglyph represented by the trident of Shiva. On each side
is a scroll; and beneath are certain round dots. These dots are curious, fcnr
they here occupy the same position in reference to the triglyph of Shiva,
that the guttse do to the trigljrph of architecture. In three coins in
my own possession, evidently of two different dies, their number is
" five." In another from the collection of Gapt. Phayre, figured No. 3,
their number is " nine ;" this last, however, is a peculiarly expres-
sive and powerful number in Buddhism. The legend over the Bull
varies in three coins, they are given separately, (a. b, c. No. 5,). (c)
presents the characteristics of the old Pali alphabet, with the exception
of the first letter ; I read it " Skri Frieghau, the last member of the sym-
bol of the last vowel being effaced ; so that it appears to the eye
Vriegh^, The other two may be determined by those better versed in
the old Nagri character. (6) ia of a more ancient type than (a) ; which
last ia of the same class as the characters composing the inscription on
the temple of Shiva in the village of Harshi, described in the Society's
Journal, No. 43, July, 1835.
The popular tradition connected with these coins is the following :
There was a king who set off to China to find the skuU which he owned
in a former state of existence when he was in the body of a dog ; his
astrologers having told him that this skull being wedged into the cleft
of a tree was the reason why he was troubled with such incurable head-
aches, and that on removing it he would be cured. On his departure
he left with his wife a ring, and told her that in case he should not
come back in seven years, she was to raise to the throne, and marry
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240 The SymboUcai Coins of Arakan. [No. 171.
that one of her subjects whom it would fit. On his way back the
daughter of the Ocean king who was in love with him, begged her fa-
ther to raise a storm to drown his fleet, and thus procure her lover.
This being done, the prime minister who escaped informed the queen of
the death of her husband ; she immediately gave out throughout her
kingdom that he should be her husband whom' this ring would fit.
Though numbers tried, it was not till an herdsman from the hills with
his brother and nephew came down, that it was found 'to fit any one.
It fitted them all three, the queen married the eldest brother, who thus
became king, and he, in commemoration of his origin, put an ox upon
his coins, as also the goad (the trident), the implement of his craft.
The coin No. 4, is much more modem in appearance than any of the
others. It would be impossible to determine its age, its appearance
would not give it more than 100 years. It is evidently the handywork
of an artist who has concocted together a quantity of symbols that
most struck his fancy from coins of a more ancient date. On the side
(a) we see the parasol roof ; being a part of the ts^ya emblems. On
each side are figures appearing to guard it. Below is that flame-shaped
symbol, mistaken by Marsden, if I remember right, for the conch of
Vishnu. On the obverse (b) is the symbol of combined triangles, over
which are three ** Z" shaped figures.
No. 6. The coin No. 6, though not belonging to the country, is re-
presented here, having been found on the sea shore of the Ishmd of
Ramree with several others. It is of gold, and thin. The central portion
represents an animal like a pig, with the representation of the Bo-tree
above, and a monographic character b beneath. Around are certain cha-
racters which an intelligent Buddhist priest declares to be old Cinga-
lese, and to compose the words, "Pawaraganran thooradza" commenc-
ing from the letter marked (a). The first letter appears to have been
mistaken by him ; the first half composing it, being indistinct, appears to
. have escaped his attention. The name he gives is that of one of the
old kings of Ceylon.
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JOURNAL
ASIATIC SOCIETY.
CATALOGUE OF MAMMALIA
IfUiabiting the Malayan Peninsula and Islands,
Collected or observed by Theodora Cantor, M. D.,
Bengal Medical Service.
^ Localities printed in Italics signify those from whence the animals of the Cata-
logue were obtained : localities in ordinary type those previously given by authors.
[Continued from p. 203.]
Gbn. — Herpbstbs, Illiger,
Hb&pestbs JAVANICU8, Desmarest.
Syn. — Ichneumon javanicus, Gteoffroy.
Mangusta javanica, Horsfield.
" Garangan," Horsfield.
Hab. — Pinang, Malayan Peninsula.
Java.
The species is numerous. The largest male measured from the apex
of the nose to the root of the tail one foot four and a half inches ; the tail
one foot one and a half inch.
No. 172. No. 88, New Sbbibs. 2 k
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242 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 172.
Hbbpbstbs aukopunctatus, Hodgson.
Stn. — Mangusta auropunctata, Hodgson.
Herpestea nepalensis, Gray.
Herpestes Edwardsii, apud Ogilby (?)
Herpestes javanica» Hodgson, apud Gray : List.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
Bengal, Nipal, Scinde, Afghanistan.
This species somewhat resembles H. javanicus, but the ground colour
is lighter, and the lower surface uniformly pale yellowish- grey ; whereas
in the former species it is similar to the back, or a shade paler. A sin-
gle female observed, measured from the apex of the nose to the root of
the tail one foot one inch ; the tail nine inches.
Hbbpbstbs 6BI8BUS, Dcsmarcst.
Stn. — Ichneumon griseus, GeofFroy.
Mangouste de Malacca, F. Cuvier, \
Mangusta malaccensis, Fischer, /
Mangusta grisea, Fischer, V Apud Schinz.
Herpestes Edwardsii, Fischer, 1
Mangusta Nyula, Hodgson, J
Herpestes griseus, Nyool, apud Ogilby.
Herpestes pallidus, Schinz.
Forsan H. nipalensis, Gray, Var. apud Schinz.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
Bengal, Hindoostan, Scinde, Nipal.
The present differs from the other species not only by its grey colour,
but by its broader head, particularly between the prominent eyes, and
by its shorter, blunter nose, which places '^e eyes comparatively nearer
to the muzzle. In a single female, measuring from the apex of the
nose to the root of the tail one foot two and a half inches, the tail nine
and a half inches ; the intestinal canal was of the following dimensions :
Small Intestines, . . . . . . 3 feet H inch.
Large ditto 0 „ 5^ „
C»cum 0 „ I
By a contraction in the middle of the greater curvature, the stomach
is distinctly separated into a cardiac and pyloric cavity.
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1846.] the Malayan Peninsula and Islands. 243
Hbkpbstbs bbachtubus. Gray.
Stn. — " Musang Tdroa" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula,
The largest male measured from the apex of the nose to the root of
the tail one foot six and a half inches, the tail nine inches. It is distin-
gaished from the other species, not only hy its colours and comparatively
short tail, but by its larger size and much more robust make.
Gbn. — Fblis; Linne.
Fblis tigbis, linn^.
Syn. — Hgris regalis, Gray : List.
" Harfmau" or " Rimau" of the Malays.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula,
India.
Lieut. Colonel James Low has communicated the following denomi-
nations, by which the Malays of the Peninsula distinguish different varie-
ties :
" Rimau Sipai," reddish coated, striped.
" Rimau Bdllu," darker coloured.
*' Dautt Pinang," reddish coated, without stripes.
" Tuppu Kassau," darkish, without stripes, but with longer hairs
than the others.
" Puntong Prun," very dark, striped.
Fblis lbopabdus, Schreber.
Syn. — Fells Pardus, Linn6, }
Felis varia, Schreber,
Felis Panthera, Erxleben,
Felis chalybeata, Hermann, ^Apud Gray : List.
Felis antiquorum, Fischer,
Felis fusca, Meyer,
Felis Nimr, Ehrenberg,
Leopardus varius, Gray : List.
Felis Leopardus, apud Schinz.
" Rimau Bintang" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
India.
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244 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 172.
Dakk Vak.
Stn. — Felis melas, P^ron, apud Gray : List.
*' Rimau Kdmbang/'* of the Malays of the Peninsula.
The ground colour is a shining beetle-brown, mixed with white
hairs, not however sufficiently to impart a grey appearance. The black
spots become distinctly visible in certain lights only. The skin of a
male killed at Malacca, measured from the nose to the root of the tail
four feet four and a half inches, the tail two feet ten and a half inches.
The Leopards of the Malayan Peninsula appear to attain to a larger
size, and to be more ferocious than is generally the case in India. In-
stances of their having killed and carried off Malays are on record.
Fblis mabmorata, Martin.
Syn. — Felis Diardii, Fischer, apud Schinz.
Felis Diardii, apud Jardine. Tab. 21 and 22.
Leopardus marmoratus. Gray : List.
*' Rimau dahan" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
The ground colour varies from rusty-grey, or fulvous to grey, and the
black markings are scarcely quite alike in any two individuals, nor is the
extremity of the tail constantly black. The adult exceeds the size given
in the original description; a female measured from the apex of the
nose to the root of the tail two feet half an inch ; the tail one foot nine
inches. The species is numerous.
Fblis javanbnsis, Desmarest.
Stn. — Felis javanensis, Desmarest, apud Horsfield.
" Kuwuk," Horsfield.
Felis minuta, Temminck, "j
Felis servalin, Temminck, I ^ j o i.-
Felis sumatrana, Horsfield, (^^''^ ^^^'"'^•
Felis undata, Desmarest, J
* ** Ktimbang" signifiei a beetle ; applied par excellence to a ipeciet olOryctet,
resembling Scarabeus nasicomis, Linn6, which is ?ery de8tructi?e to cocoanut planta-
tions. " Rfmau Kdmbang," Raffles, is by Schinz referred to FeUt Pardus, Temmiack,
Var, nigra, Muller; Felis melas, F. Cuvier, the habitat of which is saidtobe Jtfa
and Sumatra.
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1846.] the Malayan Peninsula and Islands, 245
Felifi Diardii, Griffith, \ . , ^ t . .
. J . • . > Apud Gray : List.
Leopaidus javanensis, J ^ ^
" Rimau dkar" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Pinang, Malayan PeniMula.
Java, Sumatra ?
The ground colour in the Malayan individuals varies from pure grey
to greyish brown or ferruginous. The largest adult male measured
from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail one foot eleven and a
half inches, the tail ten inches ; another of equal dimensions of the body
had the tail eight inches in length. The intestinal canal was of the
following dimensions :
SmaU Intestines, .. .. .. 3 feet 8 inches.
Large, 0 .. 9^ „
Caecum, .. .. .. .. 0 „ 1|^ „
In the scansorial habits of this very numerous species originates its
local denomination " &kar," signifying a climber as well as a root.
FxLis PLANiCBPS, Vigors and Horsfield.
Stmt. — Chaus (?) planiceps. Gray : List.
" Kdching-titan," or " j&lang" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
UnB.'^Malayan Peninsula.
Sumatra, Borneo.
The Malayan individuals of this apparently not numerous species
di£Fer from the Sumatran, originally described, in having the whitish
throat, chest and abdomen, and the inner side of the limbs undulated
with brown, transversal, interrupted bands. In none of the Malayan
wild cats is the length of the tail more variable. In a male, measuring
from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail two feet one and a half
inch, the tail, consisting of twelve gradually diminishing caudal vertebrae,
measured five and a half inches ; in another, one foot ten and three-
fourth inch in length from the nose to the root of the tail, the latter
organ measured two inches, consisting of four slightly decreasing verte-
brae, the last one of which was broad, flattened, and rouhded at the poste-
rior extremity. It is of most ferocious habits, and untameable. In the
smaller individual the intestinal canal was of the following dimensions ;
Small Intestines, . . . . 3 feet 6i inches.
Large, 0 „ 5J
Caecum, 0 „ 0|
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246 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 172.
FbLIS D0HB8TICA, Auct.
" Kdching" of the Malays.
The Malays, like most Muhamedans, are as partial to cats as they are
the reverse to dogs. As observed by Sir S. Raffles, some of the Ma-
layan, like the Madagascar domesticated cats, have a short twisted or
knobbed tail, others are tailless. Among those of an uniform colour, a
light ashy and a bluish (or slaty>grey) variety, with single longer black
hairs on the back and tail, are conspicuous. They frequently relapse
from a state of domestication, resort to the jungle, and shun the pre-
sence of man.
RODENTIA. .
ScinaiDiB,
Gen. — SciuRus, Linn^.
SciUKUs BicoLOR, Spamnaun.
Stn. — Das javanische Eichhorn, Schreb.* apud Horsf.
Sciurus giganteus, McClelland MSS. 1 Apud Horsfield, Proc.
Sciurus bicolor, Sparrmann, / Zool. Soc.
Sciurus madagascariensis, 1 . , ^ . . ^
Sciurus macruroides, Hodgson. / ^P^^ ^'^y • ^»^-
" Chingkr^wah ^tam" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Pinang, Malayan Peninsula.
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Siam, Tenasserim, Assam. Nipal.
The original diagnosis will prevent misunders'tanding as to the species
under consideration. "Sciurus supra niger, infra fiilvus, auriculis
acutis imberbibtts, palmarum ungue pollicari magno rotundato." (Sparr*
mann, apud Horsfield.) The colour of the head, back, tail, outside of
the extremities, and the feet, is intense shining black, the single hairs
being bhu;kish-grey at the root, those of the tail blackish-brown at the
root. In some individuals the black hairs generally, in others those of
the tail, or some part of the back only, have a broad subterminal band
of bright cinnamon, or Indian red, which imparts a reddish tint to the
general black colour. The mostachios, whiskers and the superciliary
bristles are black ; those of the throat and forearm are black in some,
* Sciurus Javensis^ Schreber, and bicohr^ Sparmann. apud Gray : List, is Sciatriu
LescAenaultii, Desmar. apud Honfield. Syn. S. hypoleucut, Honfieid.
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1846.] the Malayan Peninsula and Islands. 247
ferruginous, or with the apex of that colour, in others. The under* parts
vary from a deep golden fulvous to isabella colour. Whatever be the
prevailing shade, it is always most distinct on the lateral line, which,
commencing from the cheeks, passes along the sides of the body. The
fur of the lower parts of the body, and of the inside of the extremities,
is much shorter, softer, and less dense, than that of the back. The sin-
gle hairs are greyish, or blackish at the root, with the apex of the shade
of yellow prevailing in the individual. Single long bristles» either uni-
formly, or partially black, or fulvous, appear on the chest and abdomen.
The species, under the present garb, is very numerous in the Malayan
forests and hills.
Vab. P^ Horsfield.
" Sciurus supra fuscus, varians a fusco-nigricante ad sordide fulvum,
pilis velleris fulvis et canescentibus intermixes, subtus fulvus vel pallide
flavescens." — Horsfield.
Stn. — Sciurus auriventer. Is. Geoff, apud Schinz.
Sciurus aurei venter. Is. Oeoff. apud Gray : List.
" Chingkrawah" or '* Chingkrdwah puteh" of the Malays of the
Peninsula.
Single individuals, resembling the Javanese one figured in ' Zoological
Researches in Java,' occur at Pinang, but there, as in Java, tawny of
different shades, with a greyish cast, is more frequent. In some the
head is of a darker colour, in others large spots of dark appear on the
back, or the tail is above barred with dark. The upper part of the nose,
a ring encircling the eyes, and the ears appear 'in all individuals to be
of a darker brownish colour, and all have a more or less distinct large
white spot on the anterior and upper part of the thigh. The back of
the feet is either dark brown or fulvous. The palms, soles, mammae
and genital organs, are black in all. The single hairs of the back are
greyish-brown at the root, darker than the apex, which imparts the
general colour to the back. With the hairs of the tail the reverse is
the case, the basal half being isabella or white ; the apical darker. On
the lower surface of the distichous tail, the roots of ^the hairs form a
white line on either side of the vertebrae, which are covered with short,
dark-brownish, or fulvous hairs. The under- parts of the body are of
the same colours as those of the black-coated animal, but their roots
are yellowish-white. The mustachios, whiskers, and other bristles, are
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248 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting ' [No. 172.
in all of a blackish-brown ; but the single bristles of the abdomen are
sometimes fulvoas.
The black-coated individuals stand in a similar relation to the light-
coloured varieties, as that in which the black-coloured Hylobates Lar
stands to the light-coloured. Such differences of colour» wide no doubt,
are of no uncommon occurrence among the Malayan Mammalia, and
ought to be well considered by Zoologists, who have not the oppor-
tunity of studying the living animals.
This, as well as the rest of the Malayan squirrels, is capable of being
tamed to a certain extent, and evinces attachment to those who feed
them, but the appearance of a strange person, animal, or even an unu-
sual sound, startles them, and recalls their natural shyness. The largest
of a great number, measured from the apex of the nose to the root
of the tail one foot six inches ; the tail one foot nine and a half inches.
The intestinal canal was of the following dimensions :
Small Intestines, . . ^ . . . 9 feet 6 inches.
Large ditto, 4 „ 9 ,.
Csecum, .; I „ 2 „
SciuBUs Kafflbsii, Vigors and Horsfield.
Syn. — Sciurus rufogularis, Gray.
Sciurus rufoniger. Gray.
Sciurus Prevostii, Desmar. apud Schinz.
*' Tiipai baling** of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula,
Java, Borneo, China* (Canton.)
* China is the habitat assigned to Sciurus rufogularis^ Gray. Without doubting the
anthenticity, it is perhaps as well to observe, that skins of the more showy animals and
birds of India, Malacca, and the Indian Archipelago, are (^ered for sal« as indige-
nous productions in the shops of Canton and Macao. Skins of Halcyon Smymensit
for instance, and other birds from different parts of India, are bought up by the
Chinese merchants of our colonies in the Straits of Malacca, who annually, on Chinese
Junks, ship quantities of considerable value to China, wher« tbey are manufactured
into fans and artificial flowers. In a list of birds, contained in a collection of
T3hinese productions, exhibited in London in 1842, Mr. H. E. Strickland observes
in his communication to the Zoological Society, that some of them appear to
have been imported from Malacca. Skins and other parts of a host of animals, from
the most distant parts of Asia, form items in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. On my visits
to Chinese Dispensaries in China and in our Malayan Colonies, 1 have been shewn
horns of rhinoceroses and deer, tusks of the Duyong, beadi of Buceri, tortoise-shells,
and well preserved skins of Trigonocephalus Blomhoffii, from Japan ; Ammonites and
other fossils, cum multis aliis^ all supposed to possess specific virtues, and accordingly
prescribed by Chinese Medical practitioners.
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1846.] the Malayan Peninsula and Islands. 249
This species, numerous in the Malayan countries, occurs with the
following individual variations of colour —
Cheeks and throat iron-grey, shoulders uniformly, or mixed with red.
(Sciurus ru/ogularis. Gray. Mag. Nat. Hist. 1842, p. 263.)
The cheeks are sometimes dark-brown, or ferruginous.
In some the white lateral line commences from the side of the nose,
passing over the cheeks, the side of the neck, and over the shoulder.
The lateral line is either pure white, more or less distinct, or mixed
with single longer hairs with black apex.
Some have a short black line immediately below the white ; in others
there is above the latter a grizzled line, sometimes continued over the
outside of the thigh. The tail is seldom uniformly black, frequently
partially black, reddish or grizzled, owing to the apex of the hairs being
white. The tuft is frequently reddish or rust-coloured.
The feet are sometimes white or pale ferruginous.
The Museum of the Asiatic Society possesses a specimen from Java,
differing from Sciurus ru/oniger. Gray, in having the tail grizzled instead
of black. Sciurus redimittis. Van der Boon, is probably another variety
of S. Rafflesii.
A young male, about a fortnight in confinement, after having finished
his usual meal of cocoanut, seized and devoured an lora typhia, which
had just been shot, and happened to be placed within reach. Sparrows
and other smaller birds were subsequently eaten, and apparently relished.
The largest male measured from the apex of the nose to the root of
the tail eleven and a half inches ; the tail one foot two inches.
SciuKUS HiFFuaus, Is. Geoflroy.
Syn. — Sciurus erythrssus, Pallas (?) "|
Sciurus caudatus, McClelland ? >Apud Gray : List.
Sciurus anomalus, Kuhl. J
Sciurus rufogaster. Gray.
Sciurus castaneoventris. Gray.
" Tdpai Jinjang," " Ummu," or ** Jau" of the Malays of the
Peninsula.
Has. — Malayan Peninsula.
Java, Sumatra, Assam, China (Canton).
2l
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250 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 172.
The ground colour of the Malayan individuals differs but slightly,
accordmg to the more red or yellow rust colour of the bands of the hairs.
The anterior part of the tail above is of the same colour as the back,
the rest is either uniformly black, reddish, or with transverse bands, or
has the tuft of that colour. The colour of the ears is brownish in
some, but generally of the leaden grey, grizzled colour of the head, cheeks,
chin and outside of the limbs. The feet are black or slightly grizzled.
The largest individuals of this numerous species measure from the
apex of the nose to the root of the tail one foot ; the tail one foot and
half inch. i
SciuRus viTTATUs, Rafflcs.
Stn.— T6pai. Raffles.
Sciurus bivittatus. Raffles, Desmar. 1 ^ ^ u i: i ^
EcureuU Toupai, F. Cuvier, / ^P'*^ Horsfield.
Macroxus Toupai, Lesson, apud Gray : List.
Sciurus flavimanus. Is. Geoffroy, apud Schinz.
" Tdpai" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Singapore, Pinang, Malayan Peninsula.
Sumatra, Borneo, Canton.
This is the most numerous species in the Straits of Malacca, the larg-
est individuals measuring from the apex of the nose to the root of the
tail eleven inches ; the tail eleven inches.
SciuBus NiGBoviTTATus, Horsfield.
Syn. — Sciurus griseiventer. Is. Geoffroy, apud Schinz.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula,
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Canton.
Not numerous ; the largest individual observed, a female, measured
from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail nine inches ; the tail
eight and half inches.
SciUBUs TBNuis, Horsficld.
Stn. — Sciurus modestus, S. Miiller ?
Hab. — Singapore, Malayan Peninsula.
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Canton.
Of two individuals observed, the larger, a male, measured from the
apex of the nose to the root of the tail six inches ; the tail seven inches.
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SciuBUs LATiCAUDATUs, Diard, Var.
Stn. — Sciunis laticaudatus, Diard, apud S. MuUer ?*
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula,
The present squirrel differs from the diagnosis of Sdurus laticaudatus
from the west coast of Borneo, (communicated in Natuur en Genees-
kundig Ar chief, ^c. II Jaarg, I Aflev. p. 87,) in having neither the first
nor the fifth molar of the upper jaw very large. Both are of nearly
equal size, and much smaller than the rest. The following is a descrip-
tion of the Malayan animal.
The shape of the head is depressed, elongated, conical, gradually
attenuated towards the laterally compressed nose. The whole outline,
the slender form, and general colours, render the animal strikingly simi-
lar to Tupaia ferruginea. The eyes are large, hrilliant, dark ; the ears
large, oval, with smooth short hairs; the mouth is small, the upper
incisors are very minute, the lower slender, flattened, and almost
straight ; the black mustachios, whiskers, superciliary and gular bristles,
and the few white ones of the forearm, are all shorter than the head ;
the muzzle hairy, leaving the margins of the small, and at the apex
laterally pierced nostrils, naked. The limbs and feet slender ; the
nailless tubercle of the thumb rudimentary, barely perceptible in the
living animal. The claws are small, sharp, compressed, whitish.
The colour of the head, back, outside of the limbs and feet, is a rich
rusty- red, mixed with shining black, particularly on the occiput, the
back and the feet, less on the sides, where the ferruginous prevails ;
the throat, chest, abdomen and inner side of the limbs, whitish ; in some
individuals pale- yellowish. The fur is soft and delicate. The separate
hairs are leaden-grey at the base, shining black, or with a broad subter-
minal ferruginous band. The tail is shorter than the body, distichous,
broadest in the middle, attenuated at the root, terminating in a
thin tuft. It may be compared to a feather, black on each side
of the quill, successively ferruginous, again black, margined with buff.
* In the lAtt qf Mammalia in the British Museum occurs a genus : Rhinosdurus,
Gray, and a species 12. tupaiddes. Gray, Syn. Sciurus laticaudatus, Muller?? Generic
or specific characters being neither given nor referred to, it is impossible in India to
decide whether the specimen in the British Museum thus labelled, is identical with
the animal here characterised.
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252 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 172.
Such is the succession of the bands on the separate hairs. This organ
is less full and ornamental than in the generality of squirrels. The
species is apparently not numerous ; the largest out of five examined, a
female, was of the following dimensions —
Length from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail, 10 - inch.
„ of the tail, • . . . . . . . . 6 1 „
„ of the head, . . . . . . . . . . 2 f ,,
„ from the apex of the nose to the anterior angle
of the eye. . . . . . . . . . . 1 - „
„ from the posterior angle of the eye to the ear. . 0 -f .,
Breadth above the apex of the nose. . . . . . . 0 ^
.. between the anterior angles of the eyes. . . 0 -^ ..
,. between the ears, . . . . . . . . 0 ^ „
o
Diameter of the head at vertex.. . . . . . . . 1
Its habits in confinement presented nothing remarkable.
Gbn. — Ptbromts, Cuvier.
Ptbbomts nitidus, Geoffroy.
Syn. — Sciurus petaurista, Lin. apud Cuvier ?
Sciurus petaurista. Chin Krawa, Raffles ?
Pteromys albiventer. Gray lUustr.
•' Tdpai T^rbang" or *• Kdbin" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Singapore, Pinang, Malayan Peninsula,
Java. Sumatra, Borneo.
The part of the head anterior to the ears, the cheeks, the chest, and
the abdomen, are white in some individuals of either sex. one of which
is figured in Hardwicke's Illustrations of Indian Zoology, under the de-
nomination of Pteromys albiventer. Gray.
The black, or dark- brown eyelids, nose, chin, feet and tip of the tail,
appear to be constant characters. The shade, and intensity of the red
colour is liable to considerable variations.* In the very young, there is
a short black stripe behind the ears ; and the posterior part of the back
and anterior half of the tail are shining black, from each separate hair
having the apex of that colour. Traces of these characters occur in
some adult individuals. This species is very numerous in the Malayan
countries. It is not strictly nocturnal, for it is frequently seen abroad
* la an individual from Malacca, the back was very dark Indian-red. with a few
dashes of pure white. The identity of the species is. however, doubtful.
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1846.] the Malayan Peninsula and Islands. 253
during the day. It is particalarly fond of the Durian, the fruit of
Durio Zibet hinus, Linn6. The flying squirrel has this partiality, in
common with various other animals, as monkeys, Pteropi and Para-
doxuri; nay, the Malays assert, that they have to watch this, their
favourite fruit, against tigers.
In a female, measuring from the extremity of the nose to the root of
the tail, one foot six and half inches ; the tail one foot nine inches : the
intestinal canal was of the following dimensions —
Small Intestines, . . . • 7 feet 4^ inches.
Large, 5 „ 2 „
Caecum,.. .. .. .. .. 2 „ 4 „
SciuBOPTBRUs, Fred. Cuvier.
SciUROFTBRus HoBSFiBLnii, Waterhousc,
Syn. — Pteromys aurantiacus, Wagner, apud Gray : List.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
Java ? Sumatra ?
A single skin, brought from K^ddah, measured from the apex of the
nose to the root of the tail eight and three- eighth inches ; the tail eleven
inches.
SCIUBOPTBRUS OBNIBARBIS.
Syn. — Pteromys genibarbis, Horsfield.
" Kechubu" Horsfield.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula,
Java.
Of two, the larger, a male, measured from the apex of the nose to the
root of the tail seven and half inches ; the tail seven inches.
MURIDJI.
Gbn. — Mus, Linn^.
Mus BAKDicoTA, Bccbstein.
Syk.— Mus giganteus, Hardwicke,
Mus malabaricus, Shaw,
Mus perchal. Shaw, ^Apud Gray : List.
Mus Icria, Buchan. Ham. MS. I
Mus nemorivagus, Hodgson, j
Tikus bes&r of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab.— Pfjiflny, Malayan Peninsula.
Southern Mahratta Country, Bengal, Nipal.
I
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254 Catalogue of Mammalia inkabiting [No. 172.
Mu8 DBOUMANUS, Pallas.
Syn. — Mus javanus, Pallas, apud Schinz.
Mus norvegicus, Brisson, apad Qray : List.
*' Tikus" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula, Pinang.
Cosmopolita.
Mus ssTiFBB, Horsfield.
Syn. — • Tikus virok/ Horsfield.
Mus giganteus, Temminck, apud Gray.
Hab. — Pinang.
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Van Diemen's Land.
The larger of two individuals, captured in gardens, measured head
and body, ten and one-eighth inches ; the tail seven and four-eighth
inches.
Mus BUFESCBNS, Gray.
Syn. — Mus flavescens, Elliot, \ . , ^ • • *
Musrufus. Elliot. | Apud Gray : Lut.
Hab. — Pinang,
Dharwar, Madras, Bengal, Arracan.
In the young, the brown bristles are fewer, and leave the lead- coloured
under- fur more apparent. The colour of the abdomen is paler yellowish-
grey than in the adult. The species is numerous at Pinang in out-
houses. In the largest observed, the head and body measured seven
and six-eighth inches; the tail (mutilated,) four and two-eighth inches.
Mus MuscuLus, Linn6 ?
Syn.—" Tikus rdma" of the Malays.
Hab. — Pinang,
In colours, this slightly differs from the European mouse, the upper
parts being a mixture of shining grey and tawny. The separate bain
are leaden- grey at the base, then tawny with black apex ; some are
longer and uniformly dark-brown. Beneath pale- ash. The ears are
large, more than one-half of the length of the head, with very short
hairs, rounded, blackish. Toes, palms and soles, whitish. Tail slender,
dark-grey, with very short appressed brown hairs. Length of the head
and body, two and five-eighth inches : tail two and four-eighth inches.
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1846.] the Malayan Peninsula and Islands, 255
Gbn. — Rbizomts, Gray.
Rhizomts sumatbbnsis^ Gray.
Stn. — Mus sumatrensis, Raffles.
•• Dekan," Raffles.
Hypudeus de Sumatra, Temm. '
}
Nyctocleptes Dekan, Temm. ^ A pud Gray: List.
Spalax javanus, Cuvier»
Rhizomys chinensis. Gray, apud Schinz.
Rhizomys cinereus, McClelland.*
Rhizomys Decan, Schinz.
" Tikus bdlow" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
China, Moulmein, Assam.
Although the animal was first described in Sir Stamford Raffles*
catalogue of collections, made in Sumatra, the author distinctly states
that it was forwarded from Malacca by Major Farquhar ; nor does it
appear to inhabit Sumatra, although the specific name would lead one
to suppose that such is the case. The colour of the adult is liable to
individual variations, from grey of different shades to isabella or silvery-
buff. The separate hairs are mostly of the colour prevailing in the
individual, mixed with single dark-brown hairs with whitish apex, parti-
cularly on the vertex, continuing along the centre part of the back. On
the nose, anterior part of the head, and on the cheeks, the hairs are of
a pale rust colour. On the vertex some white hairs form either a spot
or a short line of that colour. The scanty hairs of the abdomen are all
of a pale-greyish or isabella colour. The mustachios, whiskers, superci-
liar and gular bristles, are either of a pale-brown or buff colour. The
young are above of a dark-grey, with a brown streak on the vertex and
* The description of this supposed species f Calcutta Journal qf Nat. Hist. Vol. II.
J)'4S^, PL XIV.) states, ** There are four toes to each fore-foot, and five to each
hind-foot." The draughtsman of PI. XIV, ** Rhizomys cinereus,** has, at all events,
observed, that all the feet are five-toed, however incorrectly he has represented the
animal. Another error occurs in the description, viz : ** Sir Stamford Raffles describes
a species of Bamboo Rat found in Sumatra by Colonel Farquhar," &c. Sir S. Raffles*
words are these : ** Mos Suuatrbnsis. A drawing and specimen of an animal, which
appears related to the Mus Pilorides, was forwarded from Malacca" (not Sumatra,
as erroneously asserted) *< by Major Farquhar, to the Asiatic Society at the same time
with the Binturong. I am informed by him that it is not uncommon at Malacca,
and is perhaps to be found in most parts of the Malay Peninsula," &c. Transact
Unn. Society, Vol. XIII. Part II
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256 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 172.
back ; beneath pale-grey. The forehead, nose, temples, and cheeb,
are ferruginous. The adult, like some squirrels and rats, is subject to
enlargement of the scrotum. In confinement, it is very savage, scarcely
tameable. The length of the tail varies from about one-third to little more
than one-fourth of the length of the body. It is blackish, or brownish ;
the apex whitish. The largest male examined, measured from the apex
of the nose to the root of the tail one foot seven and a half inches ; the
tail five and a half inches. The female, in size and colours equalling
the male, has ten mammae, viz. two axillary, and three inguinal pairs.
Gen.— Hystbix, Cuvier.
Hystkix lokgicauda, Marsden.
Stn. — Acanthion javanicum, Fred. Cuvier ?
Hystrix brevispinosus. Schinz.*
*' Bdbi L^dak" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
Java, Sumatra, Borneo.
Sir Stamford Raffles has pointed out the inaccuracy of Marsden's
figure, representing the fore-feet with five toes, instead of with four, and a
rudimentary thumb with a flat nail. The figure also has a few mane-like
long bristles on the head, whereas the mustachios are situated on the
side of the nose, the whiskers below the ear, and one or two bristles
above the eye. In colours, this species resembles Hystrix leucurut,
Sykes, from which it differs in the absence of the long mane- like bristles
of the head and neck. Although single, scattered, thin, flexible spines,
upwards of twelve inches in length, occur on the posterior part of the
back, the majority of inflexible spines are much shorter than in Hystrix
leucurus or H, cristatus, and are either pure white, or with a blackish
band in the medial portion. The short, blackish, slightly iridescent
spines of the neck, anterior part of the back, the limbs, and abdomen, are
generally grooved on the upper surface. The short white pedunculated
tubes of the posterior part of the tail are at first closed, terminating in
a short spine, which latter wears off, leaving the tubes open. The pubes
* In *' Nachtrdge zum *lUn, Bande" this species is supposed to be identical with,
and substituted for Atherura fasciculata^ although a very correct description is giren
of both.
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1846.] the Malayan Peninsula and Islands, ^57
are disposed in a wreath of stiff bristles, frequently of a deep rust
colour. The epidermis of this species, as well as of Atherura is
remarkably thin and liable to be torn. Beneath the skin appears a
fatty tissue, upwards of an inch in thickness. The anterior molars are
slightly larger than the rest. Viewed from above, tit situ, the crown of
the anterior lower molar of either side presents the form of two letters
S, facing each other (S8). In a foetus, — of which the head measures
two and one-eighth inches, the body four and three-eighth inches, the
tail one inch in length, — ^the whole of the body, and the anterior half of
the tail have numerous short hairs, disposed on separate transverse lines
of six to eight distant black hairs, becoming longer on the posterior
part of the back and sides. The posterior part of the tail has longer
and closer hairs. In a female, measuring from the apex of the nose to
the root of the tail two feet five inches, the tail four inches ; the intes-
tinal canal was of the following dimensions :
Small Intestines, 21 feet 6 inches.
Large ditto, 5 j, 10 „
Caecum, 1 „ 7 „
The stomach is of a heart-shaped outline, with thin membranes
externally smooth, internally with a few longitudinal rugae near the
narrow fundus.
The species is numerous, and, as it is considered a delicacy by the
Chinese population, is frequently brought to market.
Gbn. — Athbbuba, Cuvier.
Athebuba fasciculata, Cuvier.
S^.— Hystrix fasciculata, Lin., apud Cuvier.*
Hystrix orientalis, Brisson, apud Gmelin.
Hystrix macroura, Linn6.
Pore- epic de Malacca, Buffon.
Hystrix fasciculata, Shaw, apud Raffles.
Mus fasciculatus, Desmarest.
Hjriitrix fasciculata, Linn6, apud Gray : Illust.f
* No species of that name occurs in Systema NaUinSy Ed. XIII. Gmelin, 1788,
but Hystrix macroura is described <*cauda longitudine corporis" (??) *' apice fasciculo
pilorum** &c.
t In the figure, the anterior foot has one toe too many, the animal having four toes
and a rudimentary flat-nailed thumb. Nor is the back of the hind foot naked, unless
indeed become so by accident.
2 M
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258 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 172.
Acantbion jayanicum, F. Cut.
Atherurus lasciculatos, Schinz.
AtheruruB macrouros, Scbinz.
" L^dak" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Has. — Pinang, Malayan Peninsula.
Java, Sumatra, Borneo.
The nose, lips, forehead, and bade of the feet, are covered with
greyish-brown hairs. The body and limbs at the root of the spine, are
covered with dense soft silky hairs, grey on the upper parts, and silvery
on the abdomen. Single longer flexible spines, white with a dark
central band, are scattered over the back. Hie anterior part of the tail
is, like the back, covered with fUit- grooved spines, white at the root,
then slightly iridescent brown* and frequently with white apex. The
centre part of the tail is scaly, with very short spines between the scales.
The posterior part is white ; with white or silvery, flexible, and in length
gradually increasing, spines, which Buffon has aptly compared to nar-
row slips of irregularly cut parchment. The pubes are of a deep rust
colour.
This species is very numerous in the Malayan valleys and hills. ^. In
fretful habits, and in its food, it resembles the preceding porcupine,
like which, it is carried to the market at Pinang and Malacca, where as
many as twenty to thirty may frequently be seen. In a male, measur-
ing from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail one foot ten inches,
the tail ten inches ; the intestinal canal was of the following dimensions :
Small Intestines. . . 19 feet 4^ inches.
Large. 5 „ 3 „ j
Caecum, 1 „ 3 „
The stomach is of a general outline, resembling that of H. longieaudat
but it diflers in having an external deep vertical sulcus, dividing the
stomach into a pyloric and a cardiac portion, which latter presents 6 to 7
deep oblique sulci. The membranes of the stomach are thick and mos-
eular. Internally the cardiac portion is transversally divided by six or seven
ridges, corresponding to the external sulci, intersected by numerous con-
centric rugse. The pyloric portion, separated from the cardiac by the
rugae produced by the external vertical sulcus, is much smoother, and
has but few rugae.
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1846.] the Mi^an Peninsula and Islands. 259
EDENTATA.
Gek. — Manis, Linn^.
Mahis jayanica, Deemarest.
Stn. — Mftnis pentadactyla, Lin.» &pad Raffles.
Mahifi aspera, Sundeval.
M. qttinqaedaetyla. Raffles, apad Gray : List.
** Ptengdling" or " Tangiling" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Pinang, Malayan Peninsula,
Java, Sumatra, Borneo.
The series of dorsal scales vary in individuals from 16 to 19. The
number of central dorsal vary from 20 to 22 ; the central and the mar-
ginal caudal from 26 to 29 : in the young all the scales are finely linea-
ted and the rounded apex only is smooth. With age the lines become
obfiterated on the exposed surface of the scales, between which appear a
few long whitish bristles. The very young animal corresponds to the
description of Manis aspera, Sundeval. The eyelids, the margins of
the ears, and the scaleless parts, except the palms and soles, are scantily
prorided witih short whitish habs. The two pectoral mammse are
situated at a short distance from the axilla. Its habits present nothing
difierent from those of Manis crassicaudata (M, pentadactyla , Linn6),
of which an interesting account is communicated by Lieut. R. S. Tickell
in Journal Asiatic Society, Vol. XI. 1842. p. 221.
The present species, although nun[ierous in rocky situations, is not
often captured, as it is seldom abroad till after sunset. The largest male
measured from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail one foot nine
and a half inches ; the tail one foot eight inches. In a younger mEile,
the entire length of which was one foot eleven inches ; the intestinal
canal was of the following dimensions :
Small Intestines, . . . . 8 feet 4 inches.
Large ditto, 0 „ 6 „
Caecum is rudimentary, indicated by a slight, yet distinct widening of
the intestines. The stomacb is capacious, the pyloric region thickened
and gizzard-like. On the external surface, where the greater curvature
begins to ascend, is situated a small (one inch in length, one and three-
eighth in breadth) triangular, externally gyrated, glandular body, firmly
attached to the stomach, but not communicating with the cavity. Its
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260 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 172.
external appearance might be compared to that of a crest of ostrich fea-
thers. The narrowed apex, towards the pylorus, is provided with
a small, thick, rounded and wrinkled opening, surrounded by concentric
fibres, leading by a common, short, cylindrical duct to the broader cavi-
ty, which latter is divided by two longitudinal parietes into three sepa-
rate portions. If a tube is introduced into the common duct, the
air injected will simultaneously fill all three portions of the cavity, bat
if the tube is inserted into any one of the three separate portions, the
air will fill that particular portion, leaving the two others collapsed.
The interior surface of this organ secretes a whitish mucus. Adjoining
the common opening, from ten to eleven small rounded glands com-
mence, arranged on a line towards the pylorus. Each gland has, in its
centre, a minute wrinkled opening, leading into a small cavity secret-
ing mucus.
The stomach was extended by the remains (heads and legs,) of a pro-
digious quantity of large black ants, inhabiting the hills. The contents
of the stomach were involved in mucus, deeply tinctured with bile, and
among them appeared five small rounded fragments of granite. Another
individual expired after 10 days confinement, during which period it took
no food, although it was repeatedly placed among swarms of the black
and red ants, so excessively numerous in the valley of Pinang. Water it
always took when oflfered,. lapping it up with the tongue in the same
manner that serpents drink.
Costae verse 8 pairs ; spuriae 7 pairs =15 pairs. The ensiform process
of the OS sternum is greatly elongated, terminating in a broad, rounded,
thin cartilaginous plate.
PACHYDERMATA.
Proboscoidba.
Gbn. — Elbfhas, Linne,
Elephas indicus, Linn6.
Syn.— " G6jah" of the Malays.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
India, Burma, Siam, Ceylon, Sumatra, Borneo.
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200 .,
220 ..
400 ,.
420 „
an advance on the last
1846.] tke Malayan Peninsula and Islands. 261
Elephants are very numerous on the Malayan Peninsula. They may
be procured at the following, rates : —
" For an elephant 4 feet 6 inches high, .. 120 Dollars.
Ditto, 5 „ 3 „
Ditto, 6 „ 0
Ditto, 6 „ 9 „
Ditto, 7 „ 6
Those exceeding this height are paid for at
mentioned rate of 20 dollars for one foot six inches. If ahove eight
feet and three inches, then an addition of 40 doUarHor each one foot six
m\itiS is charged. Elephants ten feet six inches in height are taken hy
the Siamese to the Capital, and it is not permitted to sell them. The
Keddah chiefs used formerly to breed elephants, a speculation rarely,
if ever, attempted elsewhere. Coromandel Native Traders were, until late
years, constantly in the habit of loading vessels with elephants for that
Coast." (Extract from Lieut. Colonel James Low's ** Dissertation" *c.)
O&DINABIA.
Gen. — Sus, LinnS,
Sus iNDicus, Schinz.
Syn.— Sus Scrofa, Linn^, apud Elliot.
Sus indicus, f Ap^j Qrav List
Sus Scropha, Hodgson, ^ ^ ^'
Sus vittatns, Schlegel.
Sus cristatus, Wagner, apud Schinz.
" B&bi titan" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Has. — Malayan Peninsula, Pinang, Singapore, Lancavy Islands,
Bengal, Nipal, Southern Mahratta Country.
The difference between the Indian and the German wild hog (^us
Scrofa ferus, Lin.) have been pointed out by W. Elliot, Esq. ("Madras
Journal, Vol. X. 1839, p. 219.) The colour of the adult is brown-
ish-black, scantily covered with black hairs, of which few retain
^e infantile yellowish sub-terminal band. Besides the black recum-
bent mane of the occiput and back, the whiskers and bristles above
^d below the eye, there is a bundle of long black bristles on the
^oat. The hairs of the throat and chest are reversed. The tail is
scantily covered with short hairs, the apex compressed, with long
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262 Caialegue of Mammalia mhabiting [No. 172.
lateral bristles, like those of the elephant, arranged like the wings of an
arrow. The young is more hairy, with the plurality of hairs tawny or
fulvous, some with black root and apex, which, as they are more or less
mixed with black hairs, .produce on the sides of the body saturated
fulvous stripes. The hairs of the throat, chest, abdomen, and elbows,
(in the two latter places very long,) are black at the basal, and white at
the apical half. Wild hogs are exceedingly numerous on the Peninsula,
and most of the Malayan Islands. The largest boar examined measur-
ed from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail, five feet ; the tail
one foot. The stomach of a young boar, examined shortly after it had
been speared, was extended with food, principally consisting of the re-
mains of a very large coleopterous larva, some small seeds of difierent
kinds> leaves, grass and roots.
Sirs ScBOFA, Vae. siksnsis, liinn^.
Syn.— " Babi" of the Malays.
Introduced by the Chinese settlers.
Gbn. — RHiNOCBRoa, Linne.
Rhinoceros unicornis, Linn^.
Syn. —-Rhinoceros indicus, Cuvier.
Rhinoceros asiaticus, Blumenbach.
Rhinoceros inermis, lesson.
" B^dak" of the Mahiys of the Peninsula.
Has. — Malayan Peninsula.
Bengal, Assam, Nipal.
Rhinocbros sondaicus, Cuvier.
Syn. — Rhinoceros sondaicus, Cuvier, \ a a u^ 4i^^A
" W^ak," - Bddak/' f ^P'^^ Horsfield.
Rhinoceros javanensis, F. Cuvier, apud Schinz. ,
HAB.-^MalayMn Peninsula.
Java.
This, as well as the former species, appears to be numerous on the
Malayan Peninsula.
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1846.] the Muiafan Pemnwla and Islands. 263
A two-homed Rhinoceros is stated by the Malays to inhabit, but rare-
ly to leave, the densest jangle. The Museum of the Asiatic Society
possesses a skull, and also a head with the skin on, of Rhinoceros
Simatranus, Raffles, from the Tenasserim Provinces, in which locality
the existence of the species has been recorded by Dr. Heifer and
Mr. Biyth. This fact would seem to corroborate the statement of
the Malays, and the habitat of Rhinoceros Sumatranus may reasonably
be expected to be hereafter found to extend over the neighbouring Malayan
Peninsula. As such, it has indeed been enumerated by Capt. Begbie,
the author of " Malayan Peninsula" 4c., Madras, 1834. In lieut.
Gol. Low's History of Tenasserim (Journal Royal Asiatic Society* vol. 3.
1 1836J is figured the head of a young Rhinoceros, which, from the con-
nderable protuberance between the eyes, appears to represent a two-
homed, probably the present, species.
Gen. — ^TAPiaus, Linn4.
Tapirus malatanus, Raffles.
Stit. — Tapirus malayanus, apud Horsfield.
Tapirus indicus, Fred. Cuvier.
Tapirus sumatranus, Gray.
Me des Ohinois, Remusat, young ? apud Gray : List.
Tapirus bicolor, Wagner, apud Schinz.
" B^dak/' «• K6da Ayer," " Tennd" of the Malays of the Penin-
sula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
Sumatra, Borneo.
The body of a newborn male, found in Province Wellesley in August
1844, was shortly after its death carried over to Pinang. As described
by Colonel Farquhar, it was of a beautiful black velvet colour, with purple
reflections, with numerous small, and other larger, irregular spots on
the body, arranged in longitudinal stripes, above of a rich gamboge,
beneath and on the inner side of the extremities, paler yellow. The
under-lip was white. The shrivelled remSdns of the black funiculus
umbilicalis were upwards of four inches in length. The fur very short,
dense, and velvety. The separate hairs, of either of the two prevailing
colours, slightly curly.
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Catalogue of Mammalia ifikabiting
[No. 172.
Dimensions.
Length from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail, 1 foot 10 inches.
,, of the head, . . . . . . . . . . 0 ,, 7 i,
„ of the tail, . . . . . . . . . . 0 „ 1 i „
„ of the ear 0 „ 1| „
Diameter of the head from vertex, . • . . . . 0 „ 5 „
Height of the shoulder, . . . . . . . • 0 „ 8^ „
„ „ „ haunch, 0 „ 9 „
The animal, from which a sketch was taken on its arrival at Pinang,
was the property of the Rev. R. Panting, a. m. The skin, imperfectly
preserved, has lately been deposited in the Museum of the Asiatic.
Society.
On the 16th of May 1845, I obtained a living young female Tapir,
captured in Keddah a few days previously. Though still in its infan-
tile garb, it was older than the preceding. The ground colour was a
brownish-black, like worn-out velvet ; the spots, stripes, and the poste-
rior part of the abdomen were of a dirty-white. The separate hairs were
longer and curly ; the hairy ears retained numerous white spots on the
margins and external surface. The lips were blackish, with numerous
short distant bristles, which also appeared round the nostrils, on the
ridge of the nose, above and below the eyes, on the cheeks and on the
throat. Two black mammae were situated between the hind legs, three
and a half inches behind the large naked cicatrix of Funiculus umbOicalis.
Dimensions.
Length from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail, 3 feet 4f inches.
„ of the head,
„ of the tail, . .
„ of the ear.
Diameter of the head from vertex,. .
Height of the shoulder,
„ „ haunch.
Greatest circumference round the body.
Circumference at the root of the ear.
1
>>
0 ..
0
»f
ll..
0
0
I*
5|„
4 ..
1
>»
1
„
6 ..
2
»»
6 „
0
j>
6 .,
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1846.] the M^OM Penmsuia tmd liknds. 265
Dentition.
6 ^ . 0.0 . , , 3.3
Incis. -^ Canin. "fTT "*°**"*» 3.3
From the fint, although fresh from its native wilds* this young Tapir
shewed a remarkably gentle disposition. The daytime it spent in
sleeping in a dark recess of the portico of my house, though it would
rouse itself if noticed. Towards sunset it became lively, would bathe,
feed, saunter abroad, and with its lengthened nose examine objects
in the way. Within a few days after its arrival, it commenced to
exhibit a marked partiality to the society of man, not indeed to its
keeper in particular, whom it scarcely had discrimination enough to
distinguish, but to any body who happened to notice or caress it.
Towards sunset, it would follow a servant on the green in front of
the house, and punctually imitate his movements, Whether standing,
walking, or running. If the man suddenly hid himself, the Tapir
would hasten to the spot where it had lost sight of its leader, look
about in all directions, and, if unsuccessful in discovering him, express
its disappointment by a peculiar loud whistling. On the re- appearance
of the man, it expressed its pleasure by rubbing its side against his
legs, running between them, occasionally giving out a short singular
sound, resembling that produced when the larger wood-peckers tap
the trees, but more sonorous. When of an evening it heard the voices
of people in the verandah above the portico, it exhibited strong marks
of impatience, till let loose, when of its own accord it would, awkward^
I7 enough, ascend a flight of stairs leading to the verandah. It would
then quietly lie down at their feet, and by stretching its limbs and shak-
ing its head, express the satisfaction it derived from being caressed ;
and it was only by compulsion that it could be made to leave the
company. Ita* food consisted of plantains, pine-apples, mangustins,
jambu, leaves of Ficus pipul, sugar-cane, and boiled rice, of which
latter it waa particularly fond, if mixed with a little salt. Its drink
was water, and also milk and ooooanut oil, which latter taste the
Tapir possesses in common with the O'rang-dtan. It delighted in
bathing, and was otherwise cleanly. When roaming about the garden,
(its walk was like that of the elephant,) it would select a spot with soft
earth, and like a cat form with its hind legs a small excavation, and
2n
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2BS Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting [No. 172.
again coyer it. The whole body has a peculiar, and by no means offen-
sive exhalation, somewhat resembling that ^oted of Arcticiis Binturong,
Indeed* this is so tenacious* that although the skin of the individual above
described has been preserved more than a twelvemonth, and kept in a
strongly camphorated case, the odour is still perceptible.
On the 27th of June 1845, the subject of the preceding notice
expired after two days' illnes?, from inflammation of the lungs, brought
on by the strong southerly winds, prevailing throughout the Straits of
Malacca during the season, which in man produce a slight influenza,
in animals frequently terminating fatally. The few adult Tapirs*
which occasionally have been kept in confinement by residents at Ma-
lacca, have acquired the character of being hardy animals. During the
short period that the present lived in my possession, no perceptible
change appeared in its growth, but a striking alteration took place in its
colours. Nearly all the white spots on the head, nape of the neck, and
back of the ears, gradually disappeared, and the upper part only of the
margin of the earis remained white, which colour it retains in the
adult animal. On the posterior part of the back and sides, the black
and white stripes were in a state of progressing obliteration, their hairs
had faded to a brownish colour, and were about being replaced by a
shorter and less dense fur of the fresh white hairs, which were to form
the characteristic permanent white mark, already appearing in outline,
when death terminated the unfinished process of nature.
Vertebrae ; cervical seven, of which the atlas and epistrophseus are the
largest; dorsal twenty; lumbar four; sacral seven; caudal three.
Sternum. The anterior extremity cartilaginous, sharply keeled, arched,
continued over manubrium, composed of two rounded angularly-joined
pieces, as far as the second pair of ribs ; corpus composed of five pieces,
of which the two posterior, in a pair, are connected by cartilage.
Gostse verae, eight pairs; spuriae, twelve pairs = twenty pairs; the
last spurious rib is rudimentary, and absent on the left side.
Femur, five and two-eighth inches long ; the large bony sub-troclian-
teric process, described by Sir Everard Home, is developed, though partly
cartilaginous, measuring one inch in length at the base.
liver of mod^te size, each lobe divided into two portions of nearly
equal size.
Gall-bladder; none.
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1846.] the Malayan Peninsula and Islands , 267
Spleen ; tongue-shaped, flattened, with catting marginfl, seyen and a
half inches in length, one and six-eighth in breadth.
Pancreas ; in a state not to admit of accurate examination.
Kidneys ; three and six-eighth inches in length ; one and six-eighth
in breadth.
Renes succenturiad ; none.
Urinary bladder ; very large.
Stomach ; capacious. Its dimensions in the state in which it appeared,
distended with food, were —
Length along the smaller curvature, . • . .^ 0 feet 5 i inches.
» »> greater, „ .. .. 1 „ 9^ „
Circumference from cardia round fundus, . . 1 „ 0 „
„ round pylorus, . . . . . . 0 „ 3^ „
The internal surface smooth, villous.
Where the duodenum joins the pylorus, it is considerably widened.
Length of the intestinal canal :
Small Intestines, 27 feet 7 inches.
Large, „ 6 „ 4 „
Caecum, 0 „ 6 ,*,
Average circumference of small, . . 0 „ 2f „
„ „ larg^, . . • . 0 ,t ^\ ,t
Caecum sacculated, with a longitudinal band on either side. Distend-
ed with faeces as it appeared, the greatest circumference close to the
fundus was one foot one and a half inch.
In the adult Tapir dissected by Sir E. Home, and which was according
to Mr. Yarrell eight feet in length, the relative proportion between the
length of the intestinal canal and that of the body, was as eleven to one.
In the present young female, the relative length of the intestinal canal
is proportionally less than in the adult, being less than as tea to one.
SOLIDXTNSULA.
Gbn. — ^Bquus, Ltita^.
Bauus cABALLus, Liuu^.
The horse, " Kuda" of the Malays, appears not to be indigenous in
the Peninsula. The few ponies, which the wealthier use for ordinary
purposes, are imported either from Siam, Burma, or Sumatra. The
Malays either travel by water, or prefer the elephant- as a locomotive
more dignified than the horse.
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268 CtUMlague of MtmmMlia tMhabitiMg [No. 172.
RUMINANTIA.
Gbn.-*— M08CHV8, Linnd.
Tragulvs, Brisson.
Tbagulus Kanchil, Gray : List.
St27. — Chevrotain adulte.
-SZS5fS?i, }<>^.'^o^r.
Javan Musk, Shaw.
Moschos Palandok, Marsden.
Moschud Kanchil, Raffles.
Pelandok, Raffles.
Moschos fulviventer, Ghray.
'* Kanchil" or *' Peldndok" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Singapore, Pinang, Lancavy Islands, Malayan Peninsula.
Sumatra, Java.
In some individuals the back is nearly black. The colour and distri-
bution of the marks of the chest and abdomen are also liable, to individual
variations^ one of which gave rise to the supposed species: Moschms
/ulviventer. The animal is by the Malays indiscriminately denominated
" K&nchii" and *' Pel&ndok ;'* the latter denomination is sometimes par
excellence applied to the young, and this circumstance in all probability
gave rise to the supposed species Moschus Pelandok. The species ib
astonishingly numerous. In Prince of Wales* Island, any number may
be procured within a short notice, at the rate of one Spanish dollar per
dozen. Knowing the partiality of these deer to the leaves of the swe^
potato, plant fComvolvolus batatas J the Malays either use traps, baited
with this vegetable, or lie in ambush in moonlight nights in fields where
it is cultivated, and disable the intruders by throwing sticks at their
legs. In confinement, in its native climate, the animal becomes rather
delicate, though it occasionally survives, and even breeds. The female
has four mammae, and one or two young at the time. The new* born
measures eight and six-eighth inches in length, of which the head is
three inches, the tail one inch. The skin of the upper parts is of a pale
blackish colour, scantily covered with short, fine, brown hairs. The
abdomen and inner side of the limbs are pale yellow; the throat and
chest have the dark marks of the adult, but paler. The largest adults
measure from the apex of the nose to the root of the tail, me foot six
and a half inches ; the tail three inches in length.
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i
1646.] the Malayan PemnnUa and Islands. 269
Tbaqulvs jayanicus, PallaB,
Stit. — Moschus javanicus, Omelin.
Moschos jayanicos, Pallas, apad Raffles.
Napu, Raffles.
Moschos indicus, Ghanelin, I * _ , f^^_
Cervu8javamc5iis.08bek, ppuaway.
Moschos Napa, Fred. Cuyier.
" N&pu" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Petunnda.
Sumatra, Jara, Borneo.
On the Malayan Peninsula, the species appears to be far less numerous
, than the preceding. The canines of the female are very small. The
\ four mammae are situated at the posterior part of the abdomen, a little
in front of the hind legs. The anterior pair are half an inch apart ; the
posterior two-eighth of an inch apart. The two pairs are half an inch
distant from each other. In an adult female, measuring from the apex of
I the nose to the root of the tail two feet, four and two*eighth inches ; the
I tail five inches : the intestinal canal was of the following dimensions :
Small Intestines, Id feet 6 inches.
Large ditto, 7 „ 10 „
Csecum, .. .. •• •• ••0„ 6,,
The gall-bladder is very large ; immediately behind it is situated Um
right kidney.
Gbn.— Cbbvus, Linnd,
Sttlocibos, Hamilton Smith.
Sttlocbbos Mxtntjak, H. Smith.
Stv.— GheyieuiL des Indes^ AUamand.
Cenrus Muntjak, Zimmerman, apud Horsfield, Sykes and Elliot.
Cenrus Muntjak, Boddaert, ^
Cervus vaginalis, Boddaert,
Cervus Muntjak, Schreber,
Cervus Muntjak, Marsden,
Cervus moschatus, Blainville, ^Apud Horsfield.
Cervus subcomutus, Blainville,
Cervus Munljak ? Shreb, apud Raffles,
Cervus Muntjak, Desmarest,
Cervus moschus, Desmarest,
•J
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270 Catalogue of Mammalia inhabitmg [No. 172.
Cervus aureus, Ham. Smith, "|
Cervus Ratwa, Hodgson, J
Muntjacus vaginalis, Gray : List.
Cervus Muntiac, Linn^, apud Schinz.'^
" Kidang*' of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula,
Java, Sumatra, Banka, Borneo, Tenasserim, Nipal, Assam* Ben-
gal, South Mahratta Country, Dukhun.
In a young male* measuring from the apex of the nose to the root of
the tail three feet and one, inch, the tail seven inches ; the intestinal
canal was of the following dimensions :
Small Intestines, . . . . . • . . 13 feet 10 inches.
Large* 22 „ I „
Caecum, .. .. .. .. .. 0 „ 9 *,
The right lobe of the liver lies in contact with the right kidney ; the
spleen with the left.
Gall-bladder ; none.
Axis, Hamilton Smith.
Axis maculatus, Hamilton Smith.
Stn. — ^Axis, Plinius.
Cervus axis, Erxleben, apud Gmelin.
Cervus nudipalpebra, Ogilby, (black Var.) 1
Axis major, Hodgson, > Apud Gray : lost.
Axis minor, Hodgson, J
" Rdsa Btinga" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab.— Ma/ay an Peninsula, Pinang.
Sumatra, Bengal, Assam, Nipal, Southern Mahratta Country*
Ceylon.
* In *' Nachtr'age zum 2ten. Bande," the author suggests that six distinct species
are supposed to lie hid under the denomination of Cervus Muntiac, vis :
1. Cervus styloceros, Schinz, Syn, C, Muntiac, Lin. apud Ogilby. Hah. Hina-
lay ah.
2. Cervus Ratwa, Hodgson. Hah. Himalayah.
3. Cervus albipes, F. Cu?ier. Hah. India.
4. Cervus Mun^ac, Raffles and Horsfield. Hah* Java, Sumatra, Banka, Borneo.
5. Cervus Reevesu, Ogilby. Hah. China.
6. Cervus antisiensis, Pucherank Hah. Andes.
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1846.] the Mda^an Peninsulu and Islands. 271
Sir Stamford Raffles thinks it probable that the Axis in Sumatra has
been introduced from Bengal. It is numerous in Keddah, and at
present in Pinang. But it did not inhabit Prince of Wales' Island till
one of the last Governors of the late Presidency took the trouble of im-
porting from Bengal some pairs, which were kept in the park adjoining
Government House, (Suffolk House.) When the Presidency of Prince
of Wales' Island was abolished, and with it all its paraphernalia, ex-
cept the titles of as many of its officers as were necessary to the con-
tinuance of H. M. Court of Judicature, the deer of the quondam Gover-
nor's park found their way into the jungle, where they have multiplied
to a prodigious extent.
RiTSA, Hamilton Smith.
RusA EQUINA, Hamilton Smith.
Stn. — Oervus equinus. Cuvier.
Cervus Rusa, Raffles.
Rusa etam or Kumbang, Raffles.
<' Rdsa" or ** Rdsa ^tam" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula, Pinang,
Sumatra, Borneo.
The Malayan individuals correspond with the description given by Sir
S. Raffles of Cervus Rusa. The lips are whitish ; the posterior part of
the lower, sometimes dark- brown. Round the &yes and the lachrymal
sinus, on th« side of the forehead, root of the ears, and on the throat,
the hairs are either uniformly pale ferruginous, or have a subterminal
band of that colour, the effect of which is to impart a pale rusty tint to
these parts. Normally, each horn has three antlers, of which the lower
or anterior, commencing from the burr, is directed outwards till towards
the apex, which turns slightly inward. The second and outward turned
antler commences at the root of the third, and is the shortest of the
three. The third is directed inwards, and is the longest of the three.
In the number, direction, and size of the antlers, numerous individual
variations occur.
According to Mr. Blyth*s observations, Cervus Hippelaphus has,
normally, the third antler much longer than the second ; Cervus AHsto^
telis has much larger and more divergent horns, of which the second
and third antlers are about equal. Considering the similarity of colours
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2712 Catalogue of Mammalia imkabitmff [No. 172.
and size of Cervus equiwus, Hippelaphus, and AriatoUUs, Mr. Elliot is pro-
bably right in considering all three as varieties of the great Indian stag,
described by Aristotle nnder the designation of Hippeiaphus, (Madraa
Journal, 1839. p. 220.), and Cervua Peronit, Cuvier— Cerf da Timor— -
may probably be added as a fourth variety.
Panolia, Gray : List.
Panolia acuticobnis, Gray : List ?
Stw. — Cervus frontalis, McClelland ?
Cervus lyratus, Schinz ?
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula.
A single skull of a stag, killed in Keddah, has the horns so like those
of the Munneepore animal, that the species might be taken to be identi-
cal, but that the Malays assert theirs to be maned, and of a dark colour,
with white spots, like the Axis. This stag is further described as being
extremely wary, and therefore seldom seen but on heights inaccessible
to man. The skull is of an old male, with the teeth, canines in particu-
lar, much ground.
Gen. — Antilopb, Linn^,
Njcmobpbdus, Hamilton Smith.
Njcmobhedus suuatbbnsis, Hamilton Smith.
Stk. — Kambing utan, Marsden.
Antilope sumatrensis. Pennant, apud Raffles.
Cambtan, Fred. Cuvier.
Antilope interscapulars, Lichtenstein, apud Schinz.
" Kdmbing dtan" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Malayan Peninsula*
Sumatra, Tenasserim.
It appears to be numerous on the Malayan Peninsula, but exceedingly
difficult to obtain, as it frequents the steepest hiUy localities, and is very
shy and active.
Gbk.— Bos, Linn^.
Bos oouB, Trail.
Stk. — Bos Oaurus, Ham. Smith.
Bison Gaums, Ham. Smith.
Bos aeuleatus, Wagler.
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1846 J tke Malayan Peninsula and Islands. 273
The Bison, Low : Hist, of Tenasserim.
Bos (Bibos) cavifrons, Hodgson, apud Elliot.
Bos frontalis, Lambert, apud Gray : List. ( ? ?)
'* S&pi titan" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Has. — Malayan Peninsula.
Tenasserim, Hindoostan, Assam, Nipal, Southern Mahratta
country.
Numerous in the Malayan Peninsula.
Bos Taurus, Vab. Indigus, Linn^.
Syn.— " Sdpi" (S. jdntan. Bull ; S. betina. Cow) of the Malays of the
Peninsula.
Although this kind of cattle is plentifully bred in some of the Malay-
an countries, it is not in general use, and is less numerous than the
buffalo.
BuBALus, Hamilton Smith.
BuBALUS Abnbb, Hamilton Smith.
Syn. — Bos indicus, Plinius.
Bos bubalus, Brisson.
Bos amee, Shaw.
Bubalus ferus Indicus, Hodgson, apud Gray : List.
Bubalus Buffelus, Gray : List.
" Karbau" of the Malays of the Peninsula.
Hab. — Pinang, Singapore, Malayan Peninsula.
Tenasserim, Southern China.
The wild buffalo is reported, but apparently without proof, to be in-
digenous in the Malayan Peninsula. Domesticated, it is very plentiful,
and is the principal draft-cattle employed by the Malays and the
Chinese settlers. The black-coloured, apparently the hardier, is prefer-
red by the Malays ; the reddish- white, freckled with brown, is the
greater favourite of the Chinese. Both are very slow, and as observed
by Lieut. Col. Low, delicate, and liable to sudden attacks of disease if
worked in the sun.
2o
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274 Catalogue of Mammalia itAabiting [No. 172.
CETACEA.
HXBBIYORA.
Gbn. — Halicobe, Iliiger.
Halicobb Indicub, F. Cuvier.
Stn. — Dugon, Buffon.
TrichechuB Dagong, Erxleben.
Halicore cetacea, lUiger.
Halicore Dugong, Cuvier, apud Raffles.
Halicore Tabemacularom, Ruppell.
Dugongus marinas, Tiedemann, apud Schinz.
*' Ddyong" or " Farampuan Laut" of the Malays of the Fenin-
sula.
HiLB.'^Singapore, Malayan Peninsula.
Sumatra, Philippine, Molucca and Sunda Islands, New Holland,
Red Sea.
The Duyong appears not to be numerous at Singapore, still less so
to the northward, and has but in few instances been observed in Kw^
Mi)Lda, the mouth of the river, which forms the northern boundary of
Province Wellesley.
Obdinabia.
QxN. — Dblphikus, Linn^,
Dblphinus FLX7MBBUS, DusBumier.
Stn. — Delphinus malayanus. Lesson, apud Cuvier.
" Farampuan Laut" of the Malays of the Feninsula.
Hab. — Coasts of Pinang.
Malabar Coast.
The species, although very numerous, and rather heavy in its move*
ments, is rarely captured, except by chance in fishing stakes. The
stomach, of a single young individual observed, contained remains of
small fishes, apparently Clupea, and Glyphisodon calestinus, Cuvier.
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1846.]
the Malayan Peninsula and Islands,
275
Numerical List of Mammalia mhalntmg the Malayan Peninsula and JiUmde,
and other localities*
1
Hfflobates lar, Ogilbj.
Malayan Peninsula,
Siam, Burma, Tenasserim.
2
Hylobates agilis, F. Cuvier.
Malayan PenioBula,
Sumatra.
3
Reid.
Malayan Peninsula,
Pinang, Singapore.
4
reuSt Schini.
Malayan Peninsula,
Tenasserim.
5
Honfield.
Pinang, Malayan Pe-
ninsula,
Sumatra, Borneo, ^anka.
6
Uonfield.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Sumatra ? Java ?
7
Cercopithecus cynomolgus,
Pinang, Malayan Pe-
ninsula,
Sumatra, Java, Banka, Bor-
neo, Celebes, Timor, Te-
nasserim, Nicobars.
8
Papio nemestrintis, Ogilby.
Pinang. Malayan Pe-
ninsula,
Sumatra, Borneo.
9
Nyeticehus tardipradus,
Waterhoase.
Pinang, Malayan Pe-
ninsula,
nasserim, Bengal, Silhet,
Assam.
10
Oaleopithecus Temminckii,
Waterhouse.
Malayan Peninsula
and islands,
Pelew Islands, Borneo, Java,
Sumatra, Siam.
11
Rhinopoma HardwickU,
Gray,
Malayan Peninsula,
Southern Mahratta country,
Calcutta, Allahabad, Agra,
Mirzapore.
12
Megaderma spttsmUy Geof-
frey.
Pinang, Singapore,
Malayan Peninsula,
Temate, Java.
13
Nyctmomus tenuis, Hon-
field.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra.
14
Taphozous melanopogon,
Temminck.
Pulo TfkuB, Lanc&vy,
Malayan Peninsula,
Java, Caves of Kannera.
15
Taphozous saccokumus,
Temmiuck.
Pinang,
Celebes, Borneo, Java, Su-
matra, Southern India.
16
field.
Pinang,
Java.
17
Bipposideros diadema,
Gray?
Pinang, Malayan Pe-
ninsula,
Timor.
18
Pinang, Malayan Pe-
ninsula,
Amboyna, Timor, Java, Su-
matra.
19
Bipposideros vulgaris, Gray.
Pinang,
Java.
20
Bipposideros murinus,
Gray.
Pinang,
Southern Mahratta country,
Nicobars.
21
Bipposideros galerituSj Can-
tor.
Pinang,
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Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting
[No. 172.
22
VespertUio adversus, Hora-
field?
Piaang,
Java, Calcutta.
23
Kirivoula picta. Gray.
Pinang,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra.
24
Kirivoula tenuis, Gray.
Pinang,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra.
25
TrUatitus Hor^ldii, Gray.
Pinang,
Java, Sumatra.
26
ScotophUus Temmincka,
Gray.
Malayan Peninsula
and Islands,
Timor, Borneo, Java, Suma-
tra, Calcutta, Pondicherry.
27
Pteropus edulis, Geoffroy.
Malayan Peninsula
and Islands,
Java, Sumatra, Banda, Ben-
gal, Assam.
28
Cynopterus marginatus, P.
Cuvier.
Malayan Peninsula
and Islands,
Java, Sumatra, Southera
Mahratta country, Bengal,
Nipal.
29
Tupaia ferruginea. Raffles.
Pinang, Singapore,
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra.
30
Gymnura RafiesU, Vigors
and UorsEeld.
Malayan Peninsula,
Singapore,
Sumatra.
31
Sorex murinus, Linn6.
Pinang,
Java, Sumatra.
32
Helarcios malayantts, Hors-
Malayan Peninsula,
Sumatra, Tenasserim, Assam,
Nipal.
33
Arctictis Binturong, Fischer.
Malayan Peninsula,
Arracan, Tenasserim, Assam,
Nipal, Bhotan.
34
Putorius nudipes, Fred. Cu-
vier.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Sumatra.
35
Mustetajtavigula, Boddaert.
Malayan Peninsula,
Java, Sumatra, Nipal.
36
Lutra Nair, F. Cuvier.
Malayan Peninsula,
China, Bombay, Southera
Mahratta country.
37
Lttira Barang, Raffles.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Sumatra.
38
Aonyx lepUmyx, Gray.
Malayan Peninsula,
Singapore,
Java, Sumatra, Nipal.
39
Cuonprimatms, Hodgson.
Malayan Peninsula,
Bengal, Nipal.
40
Fiverra Zihetha, Linn6.
Pinang, Singapore,
Malayan Peninsula,
Southern China, Siam, Ben-
gal, Khasyah HUls, Nipal.
41
Viverra Tangalunga, Gray.
Pinang, Singapore,
Malayan Peninsula,
Amboina, Celebes, Borneo,
Philippine Islands, Suma-
tra.
42
Fiierricula malaccensis.
Malayan Peninsula,
Singapore,
China, Philippines, Java, Co-
chin China, Tenasserim,
Bengal, Nipal, Hindoostan,
Dukhun, Bombay.
43
Prionodon gracilis, Horsf.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra.
44
Paguma leucomystax,
Gray?
Malayan Peninsula,
Singapore,
Sumatra.
45
Paguma trivirgata, Gray.
Malayan Peninsula,
Singapore,
Moluccas, Tenasserim.
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1846.]
the Malayan Peninsula and Islands.
277
46
Gray.
Pinang, Singapore,
Malayan Peninsula,
Timor, Borneo, Java, Suma*
tra.
47
Paradoxurus Derhyanus,
Gray.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo.
48
Cynogale BenneUii, Gray.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Sumatra.
49
Herpestes Javanicus, Des-
marest.
Penang, Malayan Pe-
ninsula.
Java.
50
Herpestes auropunctaius,
Hodgson.
Malayan Peninsula,
Bengal, Nipal, Scinde, Af-
ghanistan.
51
Herpestes griseus, Desma-
rest.
Malayan Peninsula,
Bengal, Hindooetan, Scinde,
Nipal.
52
Herpestes brachyumSy
Gray.
Malayan Peninsula.
53
Felis tigris, Linn6.
Malayan Peninsula,
Ceylon, India.
54
Felis leopardus, Schreber.
Malayan Peninsula,
India.
55
Felis marmoratay Martin.
Malayan Peninsula.
56
Pinang, Malayan Pe-
ninsula,
Java, Sumatra?
57
Horsfield.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Sumatra.
58
Felis domestica.
59
Sdurus bicolor, Sparrm.
Pinang, Malayan Pe-
ninsula,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Siam,
Tenasserim, Assam, Nipal.
60
Sciurus Rofflesii, Vigors and
Honfield.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Java, Canton Pro-
vince.
61
Sciurus hippurusy I. Geof-
frey.
Malayan Peninsula,
Java, Sumatra, Assam, Can-
ton Province.
62
Sciurus vittatus. Raffles.
Pinang, Singapore,
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Can-
ton Province.
63
Sciurus nigrovittatus, Hors-
field.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Can-
ton Province.
64
Sciurus tenuis, Horsfield.
Malayan Peninsula,
Singapore,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Can-
ton Province.
65
Sciurus laticaudatuSyBidLTd.
Var.
Malayan Peninsula.
66
Pteromys nitidus, Geoffroy.
Pinang, Singapore,
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra.
67
Sduropterus Hor^eldii,
Waterhoiue.
Malayan Peninsula,
Java? Sumatra?
68
Sduropterus genibarbis.
Malayan Peninsula,
Java.
69
Mus bandicotQy Bechst.
Pinang, Malayan Pe-
ninsula,
Southern Mahratta country,
Bengal, Nipal.
70
Mus decumanus, Pallas.
1 Cosmopolita.
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278
Catalogue of Mammalia inhabiting
[No. 172.
71
MusseUfer, Horsfield.
Pinang,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Van
Diemen's Land.
72
Mus rufescens, Gray.
Pinanfff
Oharwar, Madras, Bengal,
Arracan. ^
73
Mus musculus, Linn^ ?
Pinang,
74
Rhizomys sumatrensis^
Gray.
Malayan Peninsula,
China, Moulmein, Assam.
75
Hystrix kmgicauda, Man-
den.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra.
76
Atherurafasciculata, Cuv.
Pinang, Malayan Pe-
ninsula,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra.
77
Manis Javanicat Desmarest
Pinang, Malayan Pe-
ninsula,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra.
78
Elephas indicus, Linne.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Burma, Siam, India,
Ceylon.
79
Sus indicus, Schinz.
Pinang, Singaoore,
Lancavy, Malayan
Peninsula,
Bengal, Nipal, Southern
Mahratta country.
80
Su8 scrqfa, Var. Linne.
Malayan Peninsula
and Islands,
China.
81
Rhinoceros unicomiSf
Linn£.
Malayan Peninsula,
Bengal, Assam, Nipal.
82
Rhinoceros sondaicus, Cuv.
Malayan Peninsula,
Java.
83
Rhinoceros sumatranus,
Raffles.
Malayan Peninsula,
Sumatra, Tenasserim.
84
Tapirus malayanus,
Raffles.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Sumatra.
85
Equus caballus, Linne.
Introduced in the
Malayan Peninsula
and Islands.
86
Tragulus Kanchil, Gray.
Pinang, Singapore,
Lancavy. Alalayan
Peninsula,
Java, Sumatra.
87
Traffulusjavanicus, Pallas.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Sumatra, Java.
88
Styloceros Mun^ak, Ham.
Smith.
Malayan Peninsula,
Borneo, Banka, Java, Suma-
tra, Tenasserim, Nipal,
Assam, Bengal, Southern
Mahratta, Dukhun.
89
ila;t« maculatust U, mith.
Malayan Peninsula,
Pinang,
Sumatra, Bengal, Assam,
Nipal, Southern MahratU
country, Ceylon.
90
/2u«a e^uma, H. Smith.
Pinang, Malayan Pe-
ninsula,
Borneo, Sumatra.
91
Panolia acuticomis. Gray 7
Malayan. Peninsula,
92
Ifamorhedus sumatrensiSt
Ham. Smith.
Malayan, Peninsula,
Sumatra, Tenasserim.
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the Malayan Peninsula and Islands,
279
93
Bos gour. Trail.
Malayan Peninsula,
Tenasserim, Hindoostan, As-
sam, Nipal, SouthernMah-
ratta country.
94
Bos taurus. Far. indicus,
Lin.
Introduced in the Ma-
layan Countries.
95
Bubalus amee, H. Smith.
Ditto.
96
HaUcore mdieus, F. Cav.
'•KSla.**''''*"
Philippines, Moluccas, Sun-
da Islands, Sumatra, New
Holland, Red Sea.
97
Delphmus plumbeus, Dus-
sumier.
Malayan Seas,
Bay of Bengal.
Note to Gen. Ntctinomus, p. 9. A male Nyetinomus bengalensis,
Geoffroy, {8yn.. Vespertilio plicatus, Buchan. — AT. bengalensis, Geoffroy,
apud Horsfield. — Dysopes plicatus, Temminck, apud Schinz.) examined
after the Catalogue had passed through the press, exhibited a true
caecum. The entire length of the animal was 4f inches, of which the
tail measured If inch. Extent of the flying membrane : 1 foot 0-ginch.
Length of the small Intestine, 9i inches.
„ .„ large ditto, . • . , . • . . 4^ „
caecum, 0^^ „
The caecum is crescent- shaped, with the concave curvature firmly
adhering to the external surface of the small intestine. The convex
curvature presents near the apex a sacculated appearance ; the mem-
branes are thickened. Where the caecum joins, the small intestine and
the rectum are narrowed.
Fort William: Dec. IIM, 1846.
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280
Notices and Descriptions of various New or Little Known Species of
Birds. By Ed. Blyth, Curator of the Asiatic Society's Museum.
[Continued from p. 54, ante.]
In the intervals that elapse between the publication of successive
portions of these notices, it regularly happens that further collections
are received by the Society, and that some additional informatioii is
derived from them relative to groups that had already been treated of. In
the present instance, we have been indebted to Dr. R. Templeton, of
Colombo, for two collections of birds from Ceylon, in which some in-
teresting novelties have been comprised, and much information gained
respecting the ornithology of that island, which of late years has been
very little investigated. Among the species sent is a little Owl, which
appears to be the true Strix castanoptera of Horsfield; one of three
nearly allied Indian species, as follow :-—
I. Athene castanopterus, (Horsf.) : Strix spadicea, Reinwardt. Entire
mantle and wings uniform deep chesnut-rufous, more or less obscurely
barred with subdued dusky : primaries weak dusky, faintly banded with
rufous on the inner web, and with a series of spots of bright rufous on
the outer web : tail dusky, with eight or nine narrow white or whitish
bars, the last of them terminal : head and neck closely barred with light
rufescent on a dusky ground, and contrasting strongly with the rufous
of the back : breast nearly similar, but the colours deeper; the abdomen
white, with longitudinal dusky streaks ; and the vent and lower tail-
coverts pure white : bill pale yellow. Length of wing about five inches.
Three specimens received are essentially quite similar, and a fourth is
mentioned in XIV, 185. Inhabits Ceylon.
2. Aih, malabaricus, nobis : Aih. castanopterus apud nos, doubtfully
cited in XIV, 134, and of Jerdon, Madr. Joum. No. XXXI, 320.
Size of the preceding, or a little shorter in the wing : the head, neck»
and interscapularies, uniformly coloured, of a lightish rufous with nar-
row and close dusky rays ; wings the same, but the colours deeper,
and the dusky bands considerably broader : primaries deep rufous, the
three first barred throughout with dusky, the rest mostly immaculate (or
with comparatively obscure bars) for the basal half, and distinctly
barred for the remainder^ secondaries with broad distinct bands
throughout, rufous and dusky; and tertiaries with the scapularies
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barred rufescent-whitish and dusky, the outermost scapularies having
the large white spots (common to most Owls,) in general conspicuously
developed : the lower- parts are barred throughout, dusky and white on
the belly and flanks, rufous and dusky on the breast, except the vent
and lower tail-coverts, which are spotless white ; tail dusky, with eight
or nine whitish bars, somewhat broader than those of the preced-
ing species. This inhabits the Malabar Coast and Travancore ; and the
Society is indebted for specimens of it to Mr. Jerdon.
3. Ath. radiatus, (Tickell} : Ath. erythropterus, Gould ; Noctua perli-
neata, Hodgson ; N, cuculoides (?) apud Jerdon, CataL Upper-parts
uniformly barred with close rays, rufescent-whitish and dusky; the
wings more distantly barred with the same, but the rufous tinge deeper,
and some of the greater coverts have, in general, conspicuous white
spots; the great alars are still deeper rufous, barred with dusky
throughout, and marked much as in the first species; lower- parts barred
whitish and light dusky, and the under tail-coverts white as in the
others. This species occurs in most parts of the country, as in the
Himalaya, Upper and Central India, the eastern coast of the Peninsula,
and Mr. Jerdon says " Travancore and Malabar ;" but it is probable
that he here refers to Ath. malabaricus, in which case the synonyme of
cuculoides apud Jerdon, must be transferred. About Allahabad, as Dr.
Stewart informs me, it is particularly numerous.
Although the first of these three species accords with the descriptions
of Ath. castanopterus of Java, it may yet prove (upon comparison of
specimens) to be an allied species rather than the same ; but it would
not be the only Malayan species that has turned up in Ceylon, and in
no part of Continental India as yet : the same collection contained ex-
amples of Vespertilio pictus, (or Kerivoula picta, apud Gray,) perfectly
identical with Javanese specimens ; whereas, from Continental India, I
have only seen a nearly allied species, which I presume to be Kerivoula
Sykesi of Gray. The curious Bittern, Tigrisoma melalophos, (Raffles,)
is sent from Ceylon, and this is new to the fauna of cis-Gangetic India,
though the Society has received it from Arracan : Ephialtes lempiji of
Ceylon and Malabar is again identical with the species common
throughout the Malay countries ; but it has been erroneously identified
with Eph. lettia, (Hodgson,) or the closely allied (if different) Eph,
lettvAdes v. griseus of Jerdon. Athene castanopterus I have never seen
2p
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282 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172.
from the neighbourhood of the Straits, but Heifer (a very unsafe autho-
rity) mentions it to inhabit the Tenasserim Provinces. Probably the
Aih. badius, Hodgson, from Nepal, mentioned in Mr. G.R. Gray's Cata-
logue of the British Museum Raptoree, butf as yet (I believe) undescribed,
pertains to the same little sub-group. i
In p. 12, ante, I suggested that Bucco zeylantcus, Ghmelin, founded
on the '* Yellow- cheeked Barbet" of Brown's illustrations, would pro-
bably be found to differ from JB. caniceps, Franklin, which Mr. Jerdon
had assigned to zeylanicus. There is now more reason to incline to
that naturalist's opinion, as the B. caniceps is very common in Ceylon,
being rather smaller, on the average, than specimens from Upper India,
as indeed are those of the Peninsula generally, so far as my observations
have hitherto gone.
The Picas ceylonus, Forster, mentioned in a note to p. 18 ante, is a
true Brachyptemus, which appears to be as common in Ceylon
as Br, aurantius is in India generally : and as there can be no doubt
of its specifical distinctness, any more than of the distinctness of Tiga
Rqfflesii (p. 16, ante,) from T. tridactyla and its immediate allies, this fact
of the existence of a plurality of decided species of these types— of an
undeniable repetition of their peculiar and marked characters — ^adds
much to the probability of the more closely allied species — Br. micropus
(XIV, 194), Br, dilutus of Scinde (XIV, 550),— r. Shorei, (Vigors), and
r. intermedia (XIV, 193), being also severally distinct from and not mere
local varieties of Br, aurantius and T, tridactyla. Other examples of this
close affinity occur in Microptemus badius, M. phaoceps, and M. gularis ;
and Mr. Jerdon, in the third No. of his ' Illustrations of Indian Ornitho-
logy', has contended that his Hemicercus cordatus is probably an ana-
logous representative of H. canente, (Lesson), of the countries of the
eastern side of the Bay of Bengal. That he is right in this conjecture n
not improbable ; though the two are absolutely similar in structure, colour-
ing, and markings : but the South of India species appears to be constantly
smaller than its representative on the opposite side of the Bay. Mr. Jer-
don gives the length of wing of the former as three inches and three-quar-
ters, that of a female in the Society's Museum being only three inches
and a half : but of several specimens received from Arracan and Tenasse-
rim, the length of wing of the males averages four inches, and of the fe-
males three and three-quarters ; the latter being conspicuously larger than
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the only South of India female that I have to compare them with. Small
as this difference may seem, it is very perceptihle in the general size
of the birds ; and ornithologists will form their own opinion as to its value.
In the Hemilopkur Hodgsom, Jerdon, the size of this species of Peninsular
India, exceeds that of the nearly allied H.javensis, Horsfield, v. leuco-
gaster, (Reinw.), of Tenasserim and Malacca. I might mention several
more instances of the kind, but will merely observe that further obser-
vation has confirmed the propriety of separating Caprimulgus albonotatus,
C. macrourue, and C. mahrattensis, (which last occurs in Ceylon,) these
species scarcely differing but in size ; also C. monticolus and C. affinis,
but C. arenarius of Bumes' drawings seems merely to be the nestling
plumage of C. monticolus, to judge from a specimen of the latter
with which the Society has been recently favoured by Dr. Stewart.
To return to the Woodpeckers, Gednus chlortgaster {ante p. 16,) b an
inhabitant of Ceylon ; and this species, though well distinguished in
the colouring of its ocdput more particularly, is as closely allied to
G. chloropus, as mutually are many of the approximate races to which
I have been adverting.
Simotes albtvertex, nobis (ante p. 19,) is not from Borneo, but from
an islet off the coast of Waigou : and so likewise is the Carpophaga
with knobbed bill, referred to the ' Sumatra Pigeon' of Latham in XIV,
857 ; while the small C. tsnea, supposed to be from the same region
{loc. cit.Jt proves to be from the Neilgherries. What farther informa-
tion I have obtained on the Columbid^e may be reserved till their turn
arrives r but in reference to the remark in a note to XIV, 846, that per-
haps some of the Gourina may prove to have more than twelve caudal
rectrioes, I may here mention that Goura fv. Lophyrus), and also the
great Phaps group of Australia (including Leucosarcia, if not also, as I
suspect, Ocyphaps and PetrophassaJ, possess fourteen — as in Treron,
Carpophaga* and PtUinopus ; while Chalcophaps, and apparently Peris^
tera, have only twelve. Of three specimens of Calanas nicobarkms in
the Society's Museum, all have the tail imperfect ; and it is curious that
* The curioas Australian Pigeon, Lopholainuis aniareUcus.iy, Cot^dUopkOy Tern.,)
which in XIV, 686, 1 suggested was probably a subgeneric formofCay^popAa^o, is allied
rather fas I now find from inspection of specimens) to that Carpophaga-like group of
true Columbma, having twelve tail-feathers only, which is referred to Dendrotreron,
Hodgson, in p* 53 ante, but which will bear the prior name AUocomus^ of Tickell, as
Cot, punicea must also be assigned to it.
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284 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172.
the rectrices of this bird, which are pure white in the adult, are, in the
young of the same, green-glossed black as the wing-primaries : — at
least I presume the species to be the same, the Society's black<tailed
young one being from the Nicobars, and one of the adults from the
Cocos Isles (a group of rocks lying northward of the Andamans,) the
other from the Malayan Peninsula,
Zanclostomus viridirostris, Jerdon, would seem to be a common
species in Ceylon ; thus confirming my suspicion (XI, 1096,) of its
being Daniell's Handee Kootah, as well as the supposed Indian rac^
(mentioned by Levaillant) of Serisomus cristatus of Madagascar.
Captain Tickell has favoured me with the following description of a
new Spiny-tailed Swift :— -
" Acanthylis sylvatica, Tickell. Entire length, from tip of bill to
end of tail, four inches and a fifth ; wing from shoulder to tip four
inches and a half, and reaching an inch and a half beyond the tail.
Form typical : the details being as in Ac, nudipes, (Hodgson)^ Wiry-
tips to the shafts of the rectrices well developed — sharp and stiff.
Thumb versatile but opposive (as in Ac. nudipes^ of which I killed a
fine specimen at Daijeeling'*'). Colour — BiU, iris, and legs, black. Rictus,
auriculars, chin, throat, and breast, iron-grey, with a dash of ashy-brown.
Belly pure white, the feathers black-shafted. All the upper-parts
black, with dull blue metallic reflections. Remiges brownish-black : tail
and its shafts black. Across the lower back passes a broad defined
space of white, including in fact the whole rump, but not the upper tail-
coverts which are of the same colour as the upper-parts generally.
'* I shot a specimen of this bird so far back as Nov. 1835. It haunts
open cultivated ground in the midst of forest ; also the cleared patches
on the sides and sunmiits of the hills [in Central India]. Is common,
but local; gregarious and noisy: being often seen in company with
Cypselus melba. When my duties call me next into the wooded regions
of my jurisdiction, I will do my best to shoot some specimens and send
you the dried skins, as vouchers for the above description."
Psilorhinus, p. 27, ante. Lord Arthur Hay mentions, in epistoid^
— " It b very curious that though the Red-billed Jay is found alone at
Simla, I should have procured only the Yellow-billed one after leaving
* Mr. Bardett informs me that he had lately seen a specimen of this Himalayan
bird shot in England, at or near Colchester, in Bssez.— E. B.
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 285
Jummoo, and in Cachemere." His lordship's description of the latter
identifying it with Ps.fiaviroatrie of Darjeeling, while by the " Red-billed"
he probably means P$, occipitalis,
Gracula, p. 3i> ante. Two species of this genus inhabit Ceylon : one,
the Gr. religiosa (apud nos)» of southern India,'*' — the other new, which
may bear the name
Gr, ptUogenys, nobis. This has no bare skin on the cheek, but the
occipital lappets are well developed, and the basal half of the lower man-
dible is black : bill moderately strong. Length of wing six inches.
Colouring as in the others.f
Amadina, p. 36, ante. The A. malacca, or " White-breasted Indian
Sparrow" of Edwards, common in Southern India, occurs rarely in
Bengal, mingled in flocks of A, sinensis, or the " Chinese Sparrow" of
Edwards ; from which, indeed, it only differs in having the lower-parts
pure white, with the same abdominal black patch : and it is curious that
a third race inhabits the Malayan peninsula, similar to A. sinensis,
excepting in having no black patch on the abdomen ; whence the name
maiacca is ill applied to the white-bellied bird of Peninsular India.}
* Mr. Jerdon designateB this Or, minor {Madr. Joum. No. XXXI, 134) : but if it
be not admitted as Or, reUgiosa (vera), as it ia certainly the Bulahes indicus of
Cuvier, it would therefore rank as Or. indica.
f Add, as a synonyme to Stumia pagodarum, the Turdus melanocephalus, Bahl
(nee Gmelin), Trans. Nat Hist, Soc. Copenhagen, 1792,— -Bmberiza brumceps,
Brandt,=17. icterica, Evenham ; and Coccothraustes speculifferus, Brandt, is proba-
bly no other than C. camipes, Hodgson.
X Immediately as the above was consigned to press, Mr. B. W. G. Frith kindly
allowed me the pickings of an extensive Malayan collection just received, wherein
are four species of Amadma^ comprising one that I have been unable to identify. The
Malayan peninsula yields, at least, the following six species of this genus of Finches.
1. A, oryzivora^ (L.), which deviates a little from the type of all the rest
2. A, majat (L.) : Loxia leucocephalat Raffles : L ferruginosa^ Latham; whose L,
bicolor is probably the young.
3. A, ? The race resembling A. sinensis^ except in wanting the black patch
on the abdomen.
4. A, punctularia, (L.) : Fringilla nisoria^ Tem. Distinguished from A, undulata,
(Lath.), V. Munia lineoventer, Hodgson, of India, by the whitish«grey on the rump,
upper tail-coverts and tail, which is represented by glistening fulvous in the other.
5. A. molucca (?), v. Munia acuticaudat Hodgson, which is dbubtless Mr. Jerdon's
supposed A, striata (v. leuconotOt Tem*,) of the Malayan peninsula. This agrees pretty
well with Latham's description of A. molucca, except that the striation of the upper-
parts is not mentioned ; Griffith adds, however, ** rump, and under breast, cross-barred,
black and white." The belly in the Malacca species is pencilled with dusky, but
not the white patch over the rump. Mr. Hodgson's Nepal specimens merely differ in
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286 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172.
Certhilauda, p. 41, ante. My suggestion that Mr. Jerdon had sent
me a distinct species as his Alauda deva, tarns out to be well founded:
the A, deva of his catalogue is a Certhilauda which I have not seen yet;
and he has recently again obtained the true Alauda with pointed crest,
referred by me to A. malabarica in XIII, 962.
In XIII, 567, it is remarked, that I had not actually compared Ma-
layan with Bengal specimens of Pycnonotus jocosus, but had an impres-
sion that the crimson sub-ocular tuft is considerably less developed in
the former. Dr. Cantor's rich collection from the Malayan peninsula
comprises several specimens of the bird in question, which is common
at Fenang ; and it is remarkable that the crimson sub-ocular tuft does
not attain to a third of the length which it does in Indian specimens. In
fine examples of the latter, the longest of the hair-like plumes compos-
ing this ornamental tuft, measure above five-eighths of an inch, passing
considerably beyond the extremities of the white ear-coverts, and im-
pending their upper half; while in equally fine specimens of the Ma-
layan bird, they appear as if truncated, and impend only the basal third
of the white ear- coverts : in other respects the two birds exactly resem-
ble ; as does^ likewise the P. monticolus, (McClelland and Horsfield,)
from the mountains of Assam, which is described to have " a scarlet ring
about the eye, but no tuft beneath this organ." This, and the Amadnia
malacca group, are accordingly further exemplifications of that repetition
in different districts of the Fauna Indica, of the same specific types with
merely a variation of size, or some trivial but constant difference of
colouring, or (as in the Pycnonotus jocosus group) a variation in the
form or degree of development of an ornamental tuft : the specific value
bein;^ somewhat paler, and what white remains on the rump appears to be a little
striated ; but they are in very bad condition. A, striata f (v. leuconota Tj of India
accords with Latham^s description, except that the white on the rump is not men-
tioned. Its upper-parts, and those of A, molucca (?) of the Malayan peninsula, are
nearly similar; but the lower are very different: the Indian (and Arracan) bird
having the throat to breast inclusive, uniform blackish, and the belly, vent, and flankst
white ; whereas the Malacca bird has the chin and throat only blackish, the breast
dark brown, with whitish shafts and borders to the feathers, and the belly dull white,
with dusky pencillings.
6. A» leucogastra, nobis, n. $, (?). Size and proportions of A, punctularia^ haviof
the upper-parts throughout dark brown, with whitish shafts to the feathers more or less
developed ; throat, breast, and flanks, brown-black ; the lower tail-coverts quite black ;
and belly white, narrowing to a point in front: margins of tail-feathers yellow-fulvoos:
bill and feet blackish in the dry specimens. Individuals vary in the iutensity of their
colouring.
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1846.] or LUtU Known Species of Birdi. 287
of which differences will probably be ever a subject of dispute. Ana-
logous slight differences occur in certain of the mammalia, reptiles,
fishes, and insects, of the same regions, which are variously set down
as allied species, or local varieties of the same, as the opinions of in-
dividual naturalists vary : but if the distinctness of such races be not
admitted, there is no demarcating the line between them and what are
conceded on all hands to be allied but distinct species, as every grade
of approximaticm is abundantly manifested.*
RMgula gularis, XIV, 576. This bird is figured by Mr. Jerdon, in
the third No. of his ' Illustrations of Indian Ornithology ;' and besides
the ruby throat, it is both represented and described to have a black
chin-spot, and the tail is represented as greenish like the back. The
following, however, may yet prove to be the female. Length about six
inches and a half; wing two inches and seven-eighths ; tail two and three-
quarters : bill to gape three-quarters of an inch, and tarse five-eighths.
Colour olive-green above, below yellow throughout, sullied with greenish
* The opposite opinion is ably maintained by M. Schle^l, in his 'Essay on the
Geographical Distribution of Serpents,' contained in Dr. Traill's abridged translation
of Schlegel's great work on serpents : but that naturalist's hypothesis of climatal and
local varieties carries him so far as to consider the Himalayan Jay (of course meaning
Gorrulus cfmatuSf V. bispecularis,) as a "variety" only of the European species;
and he states—" The Paradoxurus typus is spread over Bengal, Siam, Sumatra,
Borneo, Amboyna, Timor, &c., and forms, in these different places, numerous varie-
ties, which are chiefly distinguishable by the tint and difltribution of the colours, but
sometimes also differ in size ; in Sumatra, for example, the species is stronger than in
Java; in Java than in Timor, &c. ; there appears to exist in several places a variety
with a white tip to the tail ; and the individuals from certain parts of the island of
Java have a pale yellow fur, with three stripes down the back." JNow this amounts,
in fact, to a reduction of all species that are nearly allied, to the rank of varieties only
of the same one, however different their locale ; and so far as climatal or local influ-
ence is concerned, it happens that several of the supposed ** varieties" of Paradoxu-
rus typus co-exist abundantly in the Malayan peninsula, and without intermingling
80 far as I have ever seen or heard of, which there can be little doubt they would do
freely, were they really the same. The white tail-tip is of no consequence whatever,
and occurs not unfrequently in several species of Paradoxurus, without affecting their
other distinctive characters : white feet are also common, and occasionally these animals
are largely pied with white also upon the body. If the different races of Paradoxuri
inhabiting the Malayan peninsula are not to be regarded as species, all discrimina-
tion of species is at an end ; no two naturalists will agree respecting the amount of
specifical variation ; and no confidence can be reposed in any list of names represent-
ing the fauna of a region. Therefore, (at all events in the present state of knowledge,)
I think it right to distinguish species or permanent races to the fullest practicable ex-
teat ; and 1 even do not see that identity of origin is implied by absolute similarity.
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288 Noiices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172,
on the breast and flanks : cap and ear-coverts black, but no black cbin-
spot : the tail dusky or blackish, laterally edged with green towards its
base ; its four outer feathers having a largish white spot at tip, and the
two central pairs being successively more narrowly tipped with the same.
Bill and feet black. From Ceylon. If new, R. aberrans, nobis ; but I
repeat my suspicion of its being the female of R. gularis.
Genus Calamoherpe, Boie. In my notice of the Indian species of
this genus, XIV, 594, 1 cited C. arundinacea, (Lin.), with a mark of
doubt, in referring to it the Agrohates brunnescens of Jerdonf. By the
kindness of H. £. Strickland, Esq., the Society has now been favoiired
with a specimen of the European bird, which proves, though very closely
allied, to be certainly a distinct species from its Indian representative.
It is rather larger, with a longer wing, the latter measuring above three
inches and three-quarters ; and a good distinction is afforded by the
European bird having its first primary somewhat longer, if anything,
than the next ; whereas the Indian species, which will now rank as
C brunnescens, (Jerdon,*) has the first primary constantly three-six-
teenths of an inch shorter than the next, the third being, if ^ything,
longer than the second : the general colouring of the European species
is also rather more intense, and especially the russet hue of the flanks
abdomen, and lower tail-coverts, is considerably more developed.
Another result for which we are indebted to the fine British collec-
tions just received from Mr. Strickland, — Mr. Kirtland, of the Ashmolean
Museum, Oxford, — Mr. Bartlett, of London, — and Mr. W. Davison, of
the Alnwick Museum, — is that the British Nuthatch is a different species
from that bearing the same name of Sitta europcea in Norway, which
latter Scandinavian bird is doubtless the true S. europaa of Linnseus.
The Norwegian Nuthatch has the whole under-parts white, with the ex-
ception of the deep russet hue of the flanks and variegating the lower
tail-coverts, which is the same in both species.f In other respects they
resemble ; but the difference is as marked as between various acknow-
ledged species of Budytes, or the Motacilla alba and id. Yarrellii, ^c. ;
» Provided, however, that it also proves distinct from C. olivetum ff or olharum f),
Strickland, another allied species which that gentleman procured in Greece, and which
is figured in Gould's * Birds of Europe ;' but no description of Mr. Strickland's bird is
here accessible.
t Some specimens have an exceedingly faint tinge of fulvous on the abdomen only.
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and a Himalayan Nuthatch is equally approximate (S. cinnamoventris,
nobis, considered to be probably the S, Atma/oyana, J. & S., in XIV,
579), this having merely the deep russet of the flanks spread over the
whole under-parts of the male, and similarly diffused but much paler
in the female, — the chin and sides of the throat below the ear-coverts
being alone white, except the white variegation of the lower tail-coverts
in which it resembles the two allied European species under consider-
ation ; another very slight distinction of this Himalayan Nuthatch
appears also to be constant, namely that the outermost tail-feather has
either no white, or the merest trace of white, on its exterior web : but
its affinity with the two western European species is so close, that if the
latter are held to be varieties of the same, so also must the Himalayan
bird, notwithstanding that its deep ferruginous hue is as much developed
as in S. castasieoventris, though still not so dark as in that smaller and
slender-billed species of the hilly parts of India generally. Referring
to the notice of S, europtea in the Diet, Class., I observe that the British
Nuthatch is there described, and hence infer that it is the species inha-
biting France ; the Scandinavian bird being probably confined to the north
of Europe : and presuming that the latter is true S. europaa, Lin., I pro-
pose for the British species the name Sitta affinis.*
Passing now to groups which have not yet fallen under review, I shall
commence with that which should have received the name
Muscicapida. The Flycatchers (MuseicapiddR of authors) are an as-
semblage from different natural families of birds, many of which are
little connected by the physiological proximity we style affinity, but
by analogy rather, or similarity of external adaptations to a particular
mode of life. A large proportion of those of the Old World appertain
strictly to the great group, branching off from the Thrushes, which is
now currently known by the name Saxicolina. Of these I have many
species to describe; but the group under consideration is altogether
distinct from the Flycatching Saxicolince, and though the different
* It has lately been suggested to me that S. nipalensis, Hodgson, is identical with the
British Nuthatch ; bat it is a widely different species, distinguished by its much smal*
ler size, proportionally very short bill, and by the belly, flanks, vent, and lower tail-
coverts, being uniform light ferruginous : iu some (males?), the throat and fore-neck
are white, passing laterally into pale buff; while in others (females ?), a light buffy tint
pervades the whole throat and fore-neck. The two outermost tail-feathers only, on
each side, are marked with white.
2q
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290 Notiees and DeBcripiioM of various New [No. 172.
Inditm genera have all the Muscicapa adaptations fully developed, it
branches off to such forms as Piezorhynckns and Monarcha of Australia,
wherein those particular adaptations are much reduced. At the head
of the group may be placed the Tchitrea; nearly allied to which are the
Myiagr€e of Swainson, as exemplified by M. aerulea, (Vieillot), of
India (which is Muse, occipitalis^ Vigors, and the female — M, caruko-
cephala of Sykes, iiec M. cyanocepkaia, Gm., and 'Azure-headed
Fly catchy' of Latham.*) As seen alive, or in the recent state, the
approximation of Myiagra carulea to Tchitrea paradisi is extremely
close : there is a near resemblance in general structure ; the same deli-
cate blue bill, which loses its colour a few hours after death ; and the
lengthened occipital crest of the Paradise Flycatcher is represented by
the short velvety occipital tuft of the other, the plumelets af which
are similarly erected 4 even the black pectoral cincture of Myiagra
carulea defines the boundary of the black throat and fore-neck of Tchitrea
paradisi. Allied to these, again, we have Leucocerca, Sw.f (the Indian
species of which are referred to true Rhipidura in XII, 935) : and Rhi-
pidura (vera), v. Chelidorhynx, Hodgson, XII, 936, almost equally allied
to Leucocerca and Cryptolopha, shews that the last-named genus comes
also under the present series. The Indian Cryptolopha is Muse, griseo-
capilla, Vieillot, (apud Griffith, An. Kingd. VI, 343,) and was figured
by Mr. ^wainson as Platyrhynchus ceylonensis, afterwards altered by
him to Cryptolopha poiocephala. It is also Muscicapa nitida, var A, of
Latham. Its real name will therefore be, I believe, Cr. griseocapUh.
• The type of this genus is M. plumbeot the male of ^hich^ Muscicapa leucogastra,
nobis, XIII, 336, and the female is the supposed female of my M. rubeeuia, toe. cU.,
whichs=Af^'apra rubecutoides. Vigors and Horsfield : but the supposed male of my J/.
rubecula would seem to be the female of another species, to which may probably alio
be referred the Platyrhynchus riifiveniris of Vieillot That I did not recognise the
Myiagra plumbea, was owing to the overcbloured figure of this bird in both editioni
of Lewin's work.
t The name Leucocerca is not felicitous, as shewn by Mr. Swainson's own L. lati'
Cauda, ** remarkable for its broad and perfectly black tail." ( Nat. libr., ^Flycatchen.')
The Society has also a species from Java or the Moluccas, with a wholly rufous tail
The common species of Lower Bengal, L. fuscoventris, (Franklin), was subsequently
named Muse. (Rhipidura) sannio, by M. Sundevall ; and Mr. Strickland, in referring
the latter appellation to Franklin's species, erroneously adds L, pectoraHs, Jerdon. as
a synonyme. L. fuscoventris is the * Broad-tailed Flycatcher' of Latham, and L.
albofrontata, the * White-browed Flycatcher* of that author.
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This bird is generally distributed over all India, from the Himalaya to
Ceylon, and it is common enough in mango groves in Lower Bengal.
Of the Tchitrea, I am acquainted with three Asiatic species which
have the middle tail-feathers elongated, and the Muscipeta airocaudata
of Byton is perhaps a fourth.
1. Teh. parodist, (L.), the fully mature bird : Muscicapa indica, Stephens,
and M. castanea* Tem., the once moulted bird.f It is not at all uncom-
mon to get specimens of this bird in a transitional state of plumage,
variously intermediate to the phase& above referred to ; and not merely
when moulting from the rufous to the white garb, but a variously in-
termediate dress is occanonally put forth. Thus, among a number of
specimens before me, one white male has a considerable intermixture
of rufous on many of its back and rump feathers : another is almost
unmixed rufous above, and pure white below ; some of the upper tail-
coverts are white, and there is a streak of the same on one of the mid-
dle caudal feathers : a female is very similar to the last, but has one
primary on each wing — and not the corresponding feathers — white-
edged r another and remarkably fine rufous male has a single white
dorsd feather only : and another again has only a single outermost
caudal feather chiefly white, with a black outer margin. Females do
not appear to assume the white dress until they are several years old ;
and it is usual, therefore, to see a white male paired with a rufous
female : but, in general, the females have the whole neck and throat
glossy-black, like the male, though in some the lower portion of the
black passes into grey, and rarely the whole throat is ashy, with the
lower half of the neck behind. In adults of either sex, the crest-feathers
appear never to be under an inch in length, and vary from- that to one and
a quarter : but the nestling-bird is crestless, and has the head of a pale
dull ehesnut, with the clothing feathers altogether extremely downy
and unsubstantial. Lastly, the black exterior margin to the caudal
feathers occurs only in the white or fully mature livery, and the
elongated central tail-feathers are never thus margined (as in the next
species), but have a black shaft for about half their length. This species .
is more or less common throughout India, from the Himalaya to Ceylon.
* Perhaps, however, this name belongs rather to the next, or common Malayan,
species,
t Muse, mutata of India, Lath., can only refer to the same.
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292 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172.
2. Teh, affinis, A. Hay, MS. : Malayan Teh. paradisi, aactorum ;
Muscipeta castanea (PJ, Temminck. In any state of plumage, this
species may be distinguished from the last by having the crest never
more than seven-eighths of an inch in length (generally less), and
the feathers which compose the crest are broader and muck more com-
mingled into a uniform smooth surface than in the other. The middle
tail-feathers of the male rarely, if ever, attain a foot in length ; where-
as in the Indian species, they often exceed fifteen inches ; in form,
too, they are very much narrower than in Teh. paradisi (vera).
The adult male is white, with glossy-black head and neck* as in
the other ; but the black on the shafts of the feathers of the upper
plumage generally, is much more developed; and the middle caudal
feathers are black-shafted throughout their whole length, or nearly so, and
are more or less conspicuously margined throughout, both externally and
internally, with black, often broadly so throughout. A mature female
received from Malacca is wholly white, with black head and nape, and
black centres of feathers and edges of caudals, as in the male ; the can-
dais being however broad, instead of narrow as in the other sex.
Young males in the chesnut plumage seem never to have any black on
the throat and fore-neck, which, with the nape, are whoUy ash-colonr,
as in some young females of Teh. paradisi ; these rufous males, and also
the younger rufous females, have little or no trace of the black centres to
the feathers, — but in older rufous females the latter are well developed on
the tertiaries, and the ash- colour of the nape, throat, breast and flanks,
is very dark"*" : the inner portion of the . large alars, which in the corres-
ponding plumage of the Indian species is commonly chesnut throughout,
is in its Malayan relative always dusky black. This species is also
smaller than Teh. paradisi. It is common in the Malayan peninsda
the Tenasserim Provinces, and occurs rarely in Arracan ; replacing Teh.
paradisi of India Proper.
The advance from rufous to white occurs in several other species ; as
somewhat fantastically shevm in one or two of Levaillant's plates : and
it is also instanced by Mr. Swainson's figure of his Muscipeta rufiventris,
in the ' Birdsof western Africa,' Nat. Lihr., wherein an admixture of
white is exhibited upon the wing of a rufous specimen.
* The Society has one chesnut female with shining black throat and fore-neck, as
commonly occurs in Teh. paradisi.
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Teh. leucogaster, (Swainson), Nat, Libr., * Flycatchers/ — is an alleged
species founded on (apparently) a female specimen, which was in the col-
lection formed in India by the Countess of Dalhousie. It would seem to
agree with Teh. affinis (in the rufous dress), except in its larger size,
measuring " no less than five inches from the tip of the bill to the
vent/' and in having the posterior crest-feathers long and narrow, as in
Teh, paradisi. If a true species, the form of the tail would indicate that
the central caudal feathers of the male are elongated ; which is not the
case in all the genus, for instance in the small Teh, borboniea of the Isle
of France, the general structure of which comes very close upon
Myiagra.
Teh, atrocaudata, (Eyton), P. Z, S, 1839, p. 102. " Toto eorpore pur-,
pureo-atro, sed peetore imo abdomineque albis. Long, tot, 9 uneias"
Hab. Malacca. Lord Arthur Hay possesses what I take to be a mature
female of this species, having the head and neck glossy black, the rest
of the upper parts beautiful glossy maroime, or deep chesnut-bay, with
a very strong maronne gloss, — and of the lower-parts dark ash-colour,
passing to white towards the vent and lower tail-coverts, which last
are tinged with chesnut: shafts of the tertiaries black (as in Teh.
affinis) ; and the primaries and secondaries dusky-black, margined ex-
ternally with dark rufous ; axillaries white : the central caudal feathers
are scarcely developed beyond the rest ; and the crest is still shorter
than in Teh. affinis. Young females are scarcely distinguishable from
those of Teh, affinis ; but have a shorter crest, the middle tail-feathers
about equal with the rest on either side, and more or less of the beau-
tiful maronne gloss is generally perceptible. In this state of plumage,
they constitute Museipeta atrieeps, nobis, XI, 203, 790.
Teh. prineeps, (Tem.), p. c. 584. This superb species inhabits China
and Japan. Lord Arthur Hay has received it from Hong Kong* t and
1 should acknowledge that I have been indebted to his lordship for the
loan of some specimens of Teh. affinis, SfC„ which first enabled me to
come to some understanding of these different species.
In immediate proximity to Tehitrea, we have the new genus Philen*
toma of Eyton, of which two species inhabit the Malayan peninsula :
* Mutdpeta atrocattdata, Eyton ?, apud Lord A. Hay, Madr, Joum, No. XXXI,
159. His lordship, however, does not agree with me in the above identification of his
specimen with Teh, princeps. Perhaps Teh. atrocaudata may, indeed, yet prove to
be no other than Teh. prineeps*
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294 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172.
viz. PA. pectoraie {Muscicapa pectoralis, A. Hay, Madr. Journ, No.
XXXI, 161,) and Ph.plumosum (vide p. 10, ante) : this is a genus which
I had long instituted in MS,, when I found that I had been anticipated in
publication by Mr. Eyton.
Dicrurida, Drongos, or 'King Crows.* A very distinct group,
one marked character of which is to have constantly but ten tail-fea-
thers. An attempt was made to reduce the synonymes of the Asiatic
species in XI, 799 et seq.; and Mr. Strickland made a further attempt
in the Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 1844, p. 36. Mr. G. R. Gray, again,
has more recently tried his hand at the whole series of them, and
he adds the genera Artamus and Irena to his Ampelida Dtcrurina, m
which I cannot think of following him. The generic subdivisions I
would retain the same as formerly.
1 . Chibia hottentota ; Corvus hottentotus, Lin. : Edolius barbatus. Gray ;
E. crishna, Grould ; Criniger splendens, Tickell ; Chibia casia, Hodgson.
Common in Bengal, Nepal, Assam, Sylhet, and in Central India ; rarer in
Arracan ; and partially distributed in S. India. This beautiful bird is re-
markable for the arched form of its bill, which is high and carinate at
base, and attenuates gradually to a point, with scarcely a trace of emargi-
nation. It has a frontal crest of a few hair-like stems, which hang over
the nape ; and its outermost tail-feathers are very much twisted over,
forming a singular ornament.
2. Chaptia anea, (Vieillot) : Dicrurus (eratus, Stephens ; Ch. muscipe-
toides, Hodgson : Butchanga of the Bengallees. This beautiful species
resembles the last in the character and lustre of its feathers, but has
the general form of a Flycatcher. It is a loud and very respectable
songster. Inhabits India generally.
3. Ch. malayensis, A. Hay. Very similar to the last in plumage, but
the size inferior, the tail much less deeply forked, the biU deeper, and a
considerable development of the peculiar crest impending its base, of the
next species. Lord Arthur Hay will describe it more particularly in the
' Madras Journal.* From Malacca.
4. Bhringa remi/er, (Tem.) : Bh. tectirostris, Hodgson ; Eddhu
rangonensis apud Horsfield, from Assam. This is peculiarly a hill
species, common in the eastern Himalaya, and extending^ to the moon-
tains of Assam, Sylhet, and Arracan. It much resembles the preceding
in the general character and lustre of its plumage, but has a nearly
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square tail, with the stems of the outermost feathers excessively elongated
beyond the rest, and harbed only for the terminal four inches (or there-
abouts), nearly equally so in both webs, and this barbed portion is not
twisted as in the following species ; the stem, however, which is much
smoother or more completely barbless than in the others, takes half a
turn, 80 that the barbed tips remain vertical, to the axis of the body,
with the upper side inwards.
We come now to tbe Edolii, as I restrict this division : and are pre-
sented with a series of species closely allied in other respects, but
shewing every gradation in the degree of development of frontal crest,
from the total absence of such an ornament, to one flowing backward
over the occiput. Their synonyme, as may be supposed, is much
involved. All have a moderately furcate tail, with the stems of its
outermost feathers prolonged and naked for a considerable space, and
broadly barbed on the inner side towards the extremity ; the stem how-
ever giving one twist, so that this inner web appears to be the outer
one : in younger specimens, the inner side has conspicuously a short
web throughout its length (which is considerably less than in mature
birds), and the rudiment of this inner web is seen, upon close inspection,
in adults, as also a very slight rudiment of an outer web, which latter
becomes further developed towards the extreme tip of the feather. Fi-
nally, the barbed tip is more or less twisted inwards, and has
always its inferior side uppermost. It is worthy of remark, that the
crested birds are successively larger as the crest becomes more deve-
loped ; while the crestless species are smallest : also, that the latter have
the longest and most spirated outer tail-feathers ; while in the former,
these are successively shorter and less spirated.
5. E. malaharoides } Chibia malabaroides, Hodgson, Ind. Rev, 1837,
p. 325 : Lanius malabaricus, as figured by Latham and Shaw, but not
L. malabaricus as described by Latham from Sonnerat : E. grandis apud
DOS, XI, 170, and Ann. Mag, Nat, Hist, XIV, 46. In this species, the
frontal plumes attain a length of two inches and a half, and flow back-
ward over and beyond the occiput. The hackles of the neck are also
decidedly more elongated than in the others. Length of wing com-
monly six inches and three-quarters. Inhabits Nepal, Tipperah, and
the Tenasserim Provinces.
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296 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172.
6. E. grandis, Gould^ Proc, Zool. Soc. 1836, p. 5 : j&. bengalensis,
A. Hay, MS. Crest-feathers attaining to an inch and a half, or in verj
fine specimens a trifle more, and reaching to the occiput, but scarcely
ever overhanging it.* Fine specimens are of equal size with the pre-
ceding race ; though, in general, the present one is rather smaller. It
is common in Assam and Arracan, and occurs in the Bengal Soonder-
buns.
7. E. paradiseus ; Cuculus paradiseus, Lin. : Dicrurus platwus, Vieil-
lot ; Edolius reti/er, Tem. ; E. crist&tellus, nobis, XI, 171 ; i^. interme-
dins. Lesson, apud G. R. Gray. This is the common species of the Te-
nasserim provinces, with crest generally from an inch to an inch and
a quarter long, and the wing usually six inches and a quarter. It is not
well distinguished from the last ; but when a number of specimens are
seen together, with a corresponding series of the Arracan bird, the aver-
age size and development of the crest-feathers of the present race is
shewn to be inferior, and the tendency of the crest is always to curve
back more abruptly.
Two specimens from southern India (locality not mentioned), with
which the Society has been favoured by Mr. Jerdon, do not — at least that
I can perceive — differ in any respect from the common Tenasserim race;
but Mr. Jerdon informs me, that he possesses three Edolii from the
Indian peninsula, — " one from Malabar, one from the Eastern Gh&ts,
and one from Goomsoor. This last (E. orissaj" he adds, " has the
bill much smaller than in E. dentirostris of the Eastern Gh&ts. llie
Malabar species is crested, and therefore does not correspond with Son-
nerat's figure** below referred to.
8. E, malaharicus, (Scopoli), founded on le Grand Gohe-mouche de k
c6te de Malabar of Sonnerat : E. rangonensis, Gould. That two races
even here remain to be distinguished is still my suspicion, one being the
bird described as E. rangonensis in XI, 172, and represented in the
plate to XI, 802. figs. 8 and 9 ; the other, the bird of Sonnerat, devoid
of the slightest trace of a frontal crest, and of which (if I am not greatlf
mistaken) I saw a Singapore specimen in the collection of a French
gentleman some time ago, who forwarded that collection to Pans be-
* Mr. Gould, in his description of £. grandis, states—*' The recurved feathers of
the upper part of the head measure an inch and a half in length."
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fore I had examined it more particularly, as it was my intention to have
done. That such a cresUess Edoluts exists, however, in Peninsular
India is extremely doubtful."*"
In fine, I should not now be surprised if a most complete gradation of
specimens from the E, malabaroides of Nepal, with frontal crest two inches
and a half long, to the entirely crestless bird figured by Sonnerat, should
prove to be obtainable (as we proceed southward) in the countries lying
eastward of the Bay of Bengal ; and such a gradation would, I think, be
due to the intermixture of a succession of allied races, rather than to clima-
tal or local variation of the same aboriginal race : such intermixture
decidedly taking place between Coracias indica and C. affinis, and be^
tween Treron phcenicoptera and TV. chlorigaster, as also between the
different Kilidge Pheasants (as I shall take another opportunity of
shewing)t. The EdolH of peninsular India, I am not yet sufficiently
acquainted with.
9. Dicrurus edoli/ormis, nobis, ». s. This well marked species
would seem to be a common bird in Ceylon. It much resembles the
ordinary sub-crested bird of the Malayan peninsula, except that its tail
is formed as in D. macrocercus, the caudal feathers being however some-
what broader. Three specimens are quite similar. Length of wing
fire inches and three-eighths, of middle tail-feathers five inches, the out-
ermost an inch and a half, to an inch and three-quarters more ; bill to
gape an inch and three- eighths ; and tarse an inch. The form of bill and
plumage is as in j^. malabaricus, the frontal crest being rather more de-
veloped than in the next species.
10. D. viridescens, Qould, vide XI, 173 and 802. figs. 10 and 11.
Tail almost quadrate, with but a slightly furcate tendency. Both this
and the preceding are, in fact, Edolii, with the outermost tail-feathers
not prolonged as in that series of birds.
* Since the above was written, the Society has been favoared by Mr. E. Lindstedt
with a fine specimen of an Bdolius from Malacca, having a frontal crest half an inch
in length ; and I feel doubtful whether this and other Malacca specimens can be safely
identified with the bird having very long and very spiral outer tail-feathers, noticed in
the description of ^. rangonensiSt XI, 172, and the bill of which is figured at p. 802,
nos. 8 and 9.
t Canms corone and C. cornix, and MotacUla lugubris and Af. alba (apud Tem-
minck), afibrd similar cases of intermixture of wild races in Europe. The Society's
Museum contains a specimen of what is certainly the hybrid between Corvuf corone
and C. comix, received from Norway ; and we have also the well known hybrid be-
tween Teirao urogaUus and T. tetrix, from the same country.
2 R
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298 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172.
1 1 . i>. balicassius ; Corvus balicassius, Lin. : Oriolus furcatus, Gme-
lin, apud G. R. Gray ; Bhuchanga annectans, Hodgson ; Dicrurus affinis,
nobis, XI, 1 74 ; Corvus qfer, Licht. ; and C. assimilis, Bechst., apud G.
R. Gray. Inhabits the Malay countries^ and occurs also in Nepal.'*'
The Australian species referred to this by Messrs. Vigors and Horsfield,
is the D. hracteatus, Gould.
12. Z>. macrocercu^, Vieillot : Muscicapa biioba, licht.; D. indicus,
Stephens, and also of Hodgson, As, Res, XVIII, described and figured in
part II ; likewise Bhuchanga albirictus, Hodgson, Ind. Rev. 1837, p. 326:
Edolius forficatus, Horsfield (apud Strickland, in epistold) ; D. baUcas-
sius apud Sykes and Jerdon, also apud nos, XI, 1 74 ; and D, fingah
apud nos (passim). The common Fingah, or ' King Crow,' of India
generally.
13. 2). longicaudatus, A. Hay : D, macrocercus apud Jerdon, et nos
passim : Neel Fingah of the Bengallees ; described in Ann. Mag, Nat,
Hist. 1844, p. 46. Inhabits India generally, but is much less common
than D, macrocercus.
14. 2>. ccerulescens, (Lin.) : Lanius Fingah, Shaw : both founded on
Edwards' figure. Described in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 1844, p, 47. Not
common in Lower Bengal.
15. D. leucopygialis, nobis, ». s. Similar to the last but smaller; the
tip of the upper mandible (it would seem constantly) more produced ;
and the white confined to the lower tail- coverts, the abdominal region
being merely somewhat paler than the breast. Length of wing five
inches and three-eighths. This appears to be a common species in
Ceylon.
1 6. D. intermedius, nobis, n. s. Also closely allied to D. carules'
cens, but having no white whatever on the under- parts, which are dark-*
er than the throat and breast of D, carulescens, and have a faint steel-
blue gloss. The upper-parts are also glossed with steel-blue instead of
steel-green. Length of wing five inches, of middle tail-feathers three
and a half, and of outermost tail-feathers an inch and five-eighths
more. From Penang. In general aspect intermediate to />. cerulet'
cens and D. longicaudatus.
* Captain Lewis took a specimen at sea, when within a few leagues of one of the
Nicobar Islands.
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 299
17. D. cineraceus, (Horsf.) : — leucophaus, Vieillot; — ceylonensis,
Stephens. Lord Arthur Hay has presented the Society with a Malacca
example of this species. Its length, to tip of middle tail-feathers, is
ahout ten inches, the outermost exceeding them hy ahout an inch, and
the tail-fork much divaricated ; wing five inches and three-quarters :
hill as in D. longicaudatus and D, c^erulescens, hut less carinate ahove,
especially towards its base : general plumage deep ash-grey, passing to
blackish jost over the beak, also on the exterior web of the outermost
tail-feathers and on the wing- primaries ; ear-coverts, and around the
eye, with the vent and lower tail-coverts, albescent grey : bill and feet
black.
Respecting the remaining semi-described species of oriental Dicruri-
d€C, I have no information to contribute.
Artamus^ Vieillot : Ocypterus, Guv. ; Leptopteryx, Horsfield. I do not
range this very peculiar genus here from any belief in its affinity for the
DicntridtB, but simply because I have no idea where else to place it. It
is chiefly an Australian group, though one species inhabits the Philip-
pines, another Java, and a third occurs throughout India. This is the
A./useus, Vieillot, and Oeypterus rufiventer of Valenciennes, referred to
0. leucorhynckos in P. Z. S. 1839, p. 158. It is also the Murasiny*
Chatterer, and Broum-coioured Swallow, var. A, of Latham. An allied
form, the Analcipus hirundinaceus, Swainson, was erroneously assign-
ed to India by that author. f A. fuscus has quite the same habits
as the various Australian species observed by Gould : except that
I coald never hear of its clustering in the very singular manner
stated of A, sordidus ; f . e. a number of them clinging together, like
a swarm of bees, even to the size of a bushel- measure, pendent
from a high and bare branch of a tree. In other respects, Mr. Qould's
description of the habits of A. sordidus might be transferred to the
Indian species. Wherever a high tree rises above its fellows, and projects
a bare or dead branch commanding a wide view around, there may
commonly be seen a party of these birds, one minute sitting together
in a close row, anon sallying forth in quest of insects, and soon return-
ing (each separately and independent of the movements of the rest.) to
alight and perch together as before. Yet they are not very common,
* Mispelt Murasing^
t Vide p. 45, ante.
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300 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172.
but the parties are met with here and there, sometimes at long inter-
vals through a tract of favourable country ; but wherever they are seen, a
number of specimens may be procured with the greatest facility.
Laniada, Of the true Shrikes (Lanius), the following Indian species
may be enumerated.
I. L. lahtora, Sykes; L. excubitor, var. C, Latham : Doodea lahtora
(< Milky Shrike'), Hind. This differs from L. excubitor in having a
narrow black frontal band, and in the secondaries having their whok
inner webs, and a broad tip and margin to the terminal half of their
outer webs, white. It does not seem to occur in Lower Bengal ; nor
have I seen it from the Himalaya, or from the countries eastward : but
it is of general occurrence on the plains of Upper India and the Northern
portion of the peninsula, extending to Scinde, and it is likewise found
at Rajmahl.
There is a remarkable specimen in the Museum, with the habitat of
which I am unacquainted, and which is probably not Indian : but it
seems to be a new species, and as such may be here described : —
L. longipennis, nobis. A large grey Shrike, with a fine blush on the
under-parts, a very broad black frontal band, and singularly long
straight wings, having the first primary very short, and the second near-
ly as long as the third. It is, therefore, a Lanius of Vigors, as opposed
to his CoUurio ; to which latter all the other Indian species belong,
even L. Hardwickii. Length about eight inches and a half, of wing
four and three-quarters, its first primary but seven* eighths of an inch ;
and middle tail-feathers three and three-quarters, the outermost three-
quarters less : bill to gape seven-eighths ; and tarse an inch. Upper-
parts ash-grey, darker and less pure than in L. excubitor and L. lahtora,
except over the rump ; throat, middle of belly, and lower tail-coverts,
white ; the rest of the under-parts subdued white, with a roseate blosh ;
broad frontal band to a level with the eyes, and streak comprising the
ear- coverts, black ; wings and tail duU black ; the basal third of the
primaries white, forming a wing-band ; tertiaries slightly tipped with
the same ; and outermost tail-feathers wholly white, the penultimate
with only a dark spot on its inner web, and a dark shaft, with a narrow
contiguous stripe on its outer web, and the two next tail-feathers white
at base and tip ; the ante- penultimate more broadly so. Bill black, with
white spot at extreme base of lower mandible ; and legs brown-black.
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Birds, 301
The following is a series of allied species, certain of which have not
hitherto been distinguished.
L. schach, lin. : L. bentet, Horsfield, Lin. Trans. XIII, 144 ; Lesson,
in Belanger's ' Voyage/ Length eleven inches or less, of wing four and
one-eighth, and of middle tail-feathers five inches to five and three-
quarters, the outermost an inch and three-quarters to two inches short-
er. Head and neck ashy, passing to whitish on the vertex, tinged
with rufous on the back, and passing to bright light rufous on the rump,
upper tail- coverts, scapularies, and flanks : lower-parts delicate rufoud-
white, whitest on the throat and middle of belly : a very broad frontal
band, and streak through the eyes, comprising the ear-coverts, deep
black : wings also black, with lufescent- whitish margins to the tertiaries,
and white edge anteriorly : and the tail black, with rufescent- white tips
often obsolete on its middle feathers, and successively more developed to
the outermost ; the two or three outside feathers merely blackish, and
margined round with light rufescent, which colour predominates on the
outermost feather of all. Described from three Ghusan specimens, which
seem to be identical in species with the Javanese bird. This is the
largest species of the sub-group, and is particularly distinguished from
the others by having the black band on its forehead fully five-eighths
of an inch broad.
2. L. nigriceps, Franklin : L, nasutus, Scopoli, and L, antiguanus, La-
tham, both founded on Sonnerat's figure of his Pie-gri^che d'Antigue; but
the former name is objectionable, as referring to an individual deformity
of the specimen figured, and the latter, as likely tp convey the idea that it
is a West Indian bird, from th/e more familiarly known island of Antigua,
instead of the province of Antigue in Panay. It is also L. tricolor ,
Hodgson, Ind. Rev. 1837, p. 446; and /ntftan Shrike, Latham. This
species is at once distinguished by having the whole cap black. The
rufous hue of its upper-parts varies much in depth, and many have the
nape more or less ashy. Inhabits all northern and central India ; being
common in the Soonderbuns of Bengal, and on many of the churrs (or
alluvial banks and islands) in the Ganges and its branches. It is also
common in Assam, Sylhet, Tipperah, and Arracan.
3. L. tephronotus, Vigors, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 43: L. nipalensis,
Hodgson, Ind. Rev. 1837, p. 445 : Grey-backed Shrike of Latham. Size
of the last species : wing three inches and three-quarters. Colour of
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302 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172.
upper-parts dusky -grey, faintly washed with rufous on the back in most
specimens ; the rump and upper tail-coverts dark rufous : lores and
streak through the eyes, black ; as also the feathers immediately impend-
ing the nostrils in fine adults : a slight pale streak over the eye, more or
less developed : throat, fore-neck, and middle of belly, white ; the rest
of the under-parts rufous. The females and young have the breast,
flanks, and sides of the neck, rayed more or less with dusky : wings
dusky, with rufescent margins to the tertiaries and coverts, more or less
developed ; and tail nearly uniform brownish, with its outer feathers and
the tips of all paler. Common in Nepal and Bengal, and has been re-
ceived from Tipperah and Arracan ; frequenting the same haunts as the
last species.
4. L. erythronotus. Vigors and Gould (nee Jerdon). Wing three
inches and five-eighths to three and three-quarters : middle tail-feathers
four and a half to five inches. Has a broad black frontal band, three-
eighths of an inch and upwards ; a dark ash-coloured head and nape,
a little albescent in some towards the frontal band ; and sometimes the
whole back deep rufous up to the neck, at other times the upper back
is merely tinged with rufous. A good distinction from the next species
consists in the broad black streak through the eyes bemg continued for
some distance beyond the ear-coverts, instead of terminating with them.
Appears peculiar to the NW. Himalaya.
5. L. caniceps, nobis. Nearly similar to the last but smaller; the
black frontal band much narrower ; the grey of the head much paler,
and spreading considerably more upon the back, becoming also much
more whitish towards the front and over* the black eye-band : below,
the breast is whiter, and the rufous of the flanks more defined ; and
above, this is often confined to the rump and upper tail-coverts, and the
posterior scapularies only ; whereas in L, erythronotus (verus), the entire
scapularies seem to be always deep rufous, and sometimes the whole in-
terscapulary region, which is never more than tinged with rufous in the
present species. Wing three inches and three-eighths to three and a
half, and middle tail-feathers four and a half. A marked indmdnud
variety of this species — with grown tail only three inches and three-
quarters long, the whole back and scapularies grey, and scarcely
any rufous on the flanks, (but its plumage altogether much abraded)—
I referred doubtfully to L, minor, in X, 841. The present is the
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L, erythronotus apud Jerdon and others, of India generally ; extend-
ing to Scinde on the west, and eastward it would appear to inhabit
Assam, as Dr. Horsfield remarks of the Assamese bird that—" compar-
ed with the figure in Gould's ' Century of Himalayan birds/ it is con-
aiderably smaller, and the colours are more dull than in the Himalayan
bird." It also occurs in Arracan, and in the Rajmahl hills in Bengal,
but not lower towards the mouth of the river.
Col. Sykes remarks, of the L. erjfthronotus of his list of Dukhun
species, that " this bird differs from L. bentet, Horsf., only in the crown
being ash-coloured instead of black, and in the defined black bar across
the forehead." L. schach (v. hentet), however, as described by Dr.
Horsfield, has no black crown, but a black forehead C*L.fronte lateribus
colli alis cauddque nigris, vertice dorsoque griseis,** 8(c), L. erythronotus
and L, hentet are successively larger than L, caniceps, with a suc-
cessively broader black frontal band : but in other respects all three
bear a near resemblance ; L, nigriceps chiefly differing in its black cap,
which indeed constitutes its only marked distinction from L. erythro^
notus ; and among some birds which Lord Arthur Hay collected in the
vicinity of Benares, is a specimen which has every appearance of being
a hybrid between these two : it has the cap mingled fuscous and ashy,
and the forehead above deep black as in L. erythronotus. We may ac-
cordingly look for the latter species at that distance from the Himalaya,
probably as a cold season visitant.
6. L. phanicurus, Pallas : L. cristatus, Lin., founded on Edwards'
figure (but the species is not crested); L. rutilus, var. A., and L.
superciliosus, var. A, Latham : L. melanotis, Valenciennes : and L.
ferrugicepst Hodgson, Ind, Rev, 1837, p. 446. Brown, with more rufous
head, tail, and its upper coverts ; streak over the eye and the throat
white, and the rest of the under- parts whitish with a fulvous tinge : lores
and ear-coverts, forming a broad band through the eye, dull black.
Females and young much rayed. This is one of the commonest of Indian
birds, and as its particularly harsh chattering affords one of the earliest
intimations of the advent of the cold season in Calcutta, its note is then
far more acceptable than is warranted by the music of it. A few indi-
viduals, however, are procurable at all seasons within a few miles. This
species is also common on the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal, ex-
tending southward to the Straits : where it is found together with the
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304 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172.
£. superciliosus and with L. tigrinus of the Diet. Class, (y. L. magni'
rostris. Lesson, and L. strigatus, Eyton). Another allied species, but
inhabiting farther eastward in the Philippine Isles, is the L. lucionensis,
Lin. I mention these to shew that I do not confound them.*
A marked variety of L. melanotis (for it can scarcely be admitted as a
separate species) was found abundantly by Capt. Boys in the country
lying between Scinde and Ferozepore. It is distinguished by its pale co-
louring, a predominant dull sandy-grey, scarcely tinged with rufous, :
except on the rump and tail ; the lores being whitish (in a male and
female presented to the Society by Captain Boys), but with a slight
black spot adjoining the orbit above. If regarded as new, L. arenarhts, \
nobis.
7. L. Hardwickii, Vigors : Bay -backed Shrike, Latham. Of this beau-
tiful species, some females perhaps resemble the males ; but they usually 1
differ in their generally duller colours, in the total absence of the black j
upon the forehead, and over and before the eye, while the ear-coverts
are nearly brown-black : some of them have a grey head and neck, not •
however very pure ; and others a brown head and neck, the latter having
also rays on the under-parts. This Shrike is common in most parts of
the country from the Himalaya southward, but does not occur below ^
the Rajmahl hills in Bengal, and I have never seen it from the <
countries eastward. |
Tephrodornis, Swainson. To this genus must be referred — ]
1 . T, sylvicola, Jerdon, Catal. S. India.
2. T,pelvica: Tenthaca pelvica, Hodgson, Ind, Rev, 1837, p. 447. {
Nepal, Tipperah, Arracan.
3. T. gularis; Lanius gularis. Raffles : L. virgatus,f Tem. Ma-
lacca, Sumatra.
These three species are very closely allied. The last is distinguished
by its small size, and otherwise resembles T. pelvica. Length of wing
three inches and seven- eighths. In the two others the wing measures
* There is a L. ferox deBcrihed in the Diet, Class.t from Java, which I cannot iden-
tify ; probably a female or young bird of its species. Also L. vittatus, Val., assigned
to India, but with which I am unacquainted; the latter is probably not a true Lammt:
L. collurioides of Lesson, in Belanger's Voyage, is described from Pegu.— Mr. Strick-
land suspects that L» tigrinus (v. magnirostriSf) is probably a variety of L. phanieu'
rus ; but it is a well marked distinct species.
t Misprinted vfi^^a^titf, in the Diet, Class,
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four inches and a half: the male of T. syhneola having the head dark ash-
colour, and that of T, pelviea light grey ; an invariable distinction.
4. T. pomUeeriima, (Gm.) : Lmuus keromla. Gray ; L. mMseipetoides,
Franklin ; L. griseus, Hckell ; L. sordidus. Lesson ; MusekapaphUippensis
of India, Liatham ; Tephr. s^ercUiosus, Swainson ; probably Tenthaea
kwmrusy Hodgson, Ind. Rev. 1887, p. 447. A very common Indian
bird and generally diffused.
5. T, grisole, nobis, XII, 180 (his). I killed an adnlt female of
this bird with the same shot that brought do^mi a young one of the pre-
ceding species, and I have never since met with it here : but the Society
has recently received an undoubted specimen from Java, and another
from Penang, so that the species has probably been named by M. Tem-
minck.
Hemipus, Hodgson, Ann. Mag. N. H. 1845, p. 203. This genus
n founded on a near affine to the Musdcapa picata, (Sykes) : but
a more typically characteristic species is
1. H. obseurus; Musdcapa obseura, Horsfield : M. hirundinaceus,
Reinwardt; Tephrodomis hirundinaceus, Swainson. Common in the
Malay countries. This bird was referred to Tephrodomis by Mr.
Swainson, and subsequently by Mr. Strickland ; and there can be no
doubt of its affinity for that group ; but its generic relationship is with
H. pieatus and H. capitalis. I observe that different specimens of this
bird vary remarkably in length of bill ; thus, of two males before me, one
has the bill fully a fourth longer than that of the other ; but interme-
diate specimens prove their identity, and there is not the slightest differ-
ence in other respects. In the short-billed specimen, that organ is in
form and size absolutely similar to that of the larger-billed examples of
the Indian species.
2. H. picaia, (Sykes): Musdcapa tyrannides, Tickell, II, 574 ; Muse,
hintndinacea of Jerdon's list.* Common in the hilly regions of Central
and Southern India, and in Arracan.
3. H. capitalis, (M'Clelland,) P. Z. S. 1839, p. 157: H. picacolor,
Hodgson.f Very closely allied to the last (indeed I am not satisfied
• Mr. JerdoB Boggetti that Muse* variegata, Auct., is perhaps the female of this
biid.«»l#. maculaia, Tickell, Mr. Strickland suspects to be the European M. atrica-
piUa (▼. iuctuosa. Tern.), pertaining to another group of Flycatchers.
t Dr. McClellond's coloured figure (unpublished) of his Muse. eapUaUs is decided-
ly Mr. Hodgson's bird, not very well reprssonted.
2 s
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306 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172.
of the propriety of its separation) ; but the back and scapularies appear
always to be of a pitchy- brown colour instead of green-glossed black;
while the cap of the male is as black as in the other, and in the female
18 marked by a blackish tinge: the tail, too, is, I think, generally somewhat
longer, and the scapularies are often more or less brown, like the back.
Inhabits Nepal and about Daijeeling, as also Assam.
A closely allied diminutive of these is the Muscicapula meldnoieues,
nobis, XII, 940 : a species common in the Himalaya and in Arracan,
and which the Society has lately received from Java, so that M. Tern,
minck has probably named it. By this and other MuscicapuUc, the
present group would be linked to the various black- billed blue Flycatch.
ers ; but I cannot pass conveniently to these just now.
Laiage, Boie. This genus connects the preceding birds with the Gram-
culince. I know but of two species, the L. orienialis Gm., v. Turdut
striga. Raffles, and Sylvia leucophcsa, Vieillot, — and another nearly
allied, but without the white supercilium, and shewing less white on
the distal half of the wing, from Australia ; this I take to be Campe-
phaga leucomela of Vigors and Horsfield, Lin. Tr, XV, 215, — those
authors describing only a mutilated female.
GrauctUus, Cuv. The G. papuensis, Cuv. (v. Maeei, Lesson, and
nipalensis, Hodgson, If^d. Rev. 1837^ p* 327*) is a tolerably common
bird throughout India, as well as eastward of the Bay. Wing six
inches and a half, and tail five and a half. Cehlepyris javensis,
Horsfield^ is perhaps distinct, as Mr. Strickland writes me word that
its wing measures but six inches, and total length ten inches instead
of a foot*
Campephaga, Vieillot : CeblepyriSy Cuv.
1 . Cfimbriata, (Tern.) apud Strickland (in epistold) : Laniussilens,
(Tickellt); Volvocivora melaschistos, Hodgson ; Grauculus macuhsus,
M'Clelland and Horsfield; Ceblepyris lugubriSs SundevaW ; Blue-grey
Thrush of Latham. Tolerably common in Bengal, Nepal, Assam,
and in Central India ; but has not hitherto been observed south of
Goomsur.
* Mr. Jerdon remarks of the ladian species — *' It appears doubtfal if this be
the true papuensis — if not, it is perhaps the Or. Macei of Lesson." Madr.JMm.
No. XXXI, p. 122.
t The South African L. silens of Levaillant is a true Curruca^ of which Mr. Strick-
land has lately favoured the Society with a fine specimen.
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 307
2. C. melanopiera, nobis, n. s. Nearly allied to the next, but larger,
and of a deep ash-grey colour, paler on the belly, and passing to white
on the lower tail.coverts ; the wings wholly black ; and tail the same,
with large white tips to its outermost and penultimate feathers, and
successively smaller ones to the rest. Bill and feet black. Length
about eight inches, of wing four and a quarter, and tail four inches,
its outermost feather an inch shorter than the middle ones. Discover*
ed in Arracan (with so many other new species) by Capt. Phayre.
3. C. Sykesi, (Strickland), Ann. Mag, N. H. 1844, p. 36: Cebl.
fimMatus apud Jerdon, and probably C. canus apud Sykes (the
young) : Eastern Thrush of Latham. Adults of either sex of this
species have the body light pure ashy; the head, neck, and breast,
deep black; the lower breast and abdomen pale grey, passing gra^
dually to white on the lower tail-coverts, &c. The young (or appa.
rently one-year old birds) have the head grey, like the back; the
throat and the entire under- parts whitish, with dusky cross-rays, and
the rump also rayed less distinctly. It is about equally common in
Lower Bengal with C^fimbriata, perhaps rather less so; I have never
seen it from the Himalaya, or the countries eastward, and it seems
to be tolerably common in Southern India.
A Ceblepyris cinereuSy Lesson, from Java, is described in the * Zoo*
logie du Voyage de M. Belanger,' of which I have taken the follow-
ing rough note. Length eight inches. Bill robust, hooked, toothed,
dilate at borders ; wings short, scarcely passing the croup. Tail of
mean length, rounded as in the others. Colour ash-grey above, be-
Death whitish-grey ; a little brown spot before the eyes; wings brown,
the primaries slightly edged with white, and secondaries tipped with
pale grey* Approaches the Shrikes in form of wings, tail, and tarse ;
and the Ariami and Drongos in its beak.
There is also a CebL culmintUus, A. Hay, from Malacca, described
in the Madr, Journ. No. XXXI, 157.
The following species, from the Isle of France, I presume to be Tanagra
capensis, Om., referred to Campephaga in the Diet. Class. The beak
is much stouter than in the Indian species, also straighter, and more
strongly toothed at tip, but not very strongly hooked : the tip of the
lower mandible curves upward, to lock within the notch of the upper one.
Length of an adult female nearly nine inches ; wing four and an eighth ;
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308 Notices and DescfiptioM of various New [No. 172.
and tail three and a half: bill to gape above an inch ; and tarae an indi.
Upper:-part8 wholly deep cinereons, darker on the crown, and paler on:
the rump and upper tail-coverts ; lores, and a streak beyond the eye,
blackish-cinereous, surmounted by a slight whitish supereiliam ;
wings blackish, the feathers margined with grey, and two or three of
the primaries slightly with whitish ; winglet and coverts of the prima*
ries wholly blackish, and anterior two-thirds of the wing white un-
derneath ; the throat and lower tail-ooverts are white, the breast light
ashy, with faint traces of cross-rays in the specimen ; belly slightly
fulvescent white ; and the tail is black, its feathers successively more
deeply tipped with white to the outermost ; form of the tail slightly
graduated, its outermost feathers being half an inch shorter than the
middle ones ; bill and feet dull black. A young male differs in having
its upper-parts tinged with rufous^brown, deepening considerably on
the rump ; breast and belly also with ferruginous patches ; tibial fea-
thers the same ; and I am informed that the old male has the under-
parts light ferruginous. Gmelin describes his TVina^ra capenais to be
yellowish, and such is likely to be the case with a still younger spe-
cimen than the male here noticed.
In XI, 463, 1 described a species from the island of Luzon, by the
name Ceblepyris ccerulescens. This is a very interesting bird, from
its close affinity for Irena, which genus I had considered to approxi-
mate to the Grauculinte, previously to remarking the affinity of this par-
ticular species. In the female and immature plumage of Irena, the
resemblance to the Graueulince is seen more especially. Campepka^
coerulescens is probably allied to C. cinerea, (Lesson), just noticed;
having a larger and stouter bill than the Indian species, more as in
Irena, only that the tip is more abruptly hooked and emarginated.
Size and general characters of Irena, but the rump-feathers spinooa
to the feel, and the tail sub^uadrate, except that its outermost fea.
thers are three-eighths of an inch shorter than the penultimate, which
latter are also very slightly shorter than the rest. This bird might
be regarded as the type of a new division, to which C cinerea should
also probably be referred.
Irena, Horsfield. A curious distinction between the Indian and
Malayan /. pueHa, auetorum, has been pointed out by Lord Arthur
Hay ; to whom we are indebted for the discrimination of numerous
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other closely allied species. In Ihe Malayan bird, the under tail,
coverts reach quite to the end of the tail ; while in L indica, A. Bay,
they are never less than an inch and a quarter short of the tail-tip
in the males, and generally an inch and a half short in the females.
I have verified this observation upon so many examples from both
regions, that there can be no doubt of the fact ; and the Arracan
Irena, and I think also the Tenasserim one, are identical with that
of India. A third beautiful species (!> cganogastra, VigO> from the
Philippines, has been recently figured by Mr. O. R. Gray,
Pericrocotus, Boie : Phcenicornis, Swainson ; Acts, Lesson. This
genus has been approximated by Mr. Swainson and others to the
GrauculincB; but the affinity is not particularly close. The follow-
ing species are comprehended —
1. P. miniatMS, (Tem.) Malay countries. (Non vidij.
2. P. speeiosus; Turdus speciosus. Lath.: Muscipeta princeps,
Vigors and Gould. Himalaya, hill ranges of Central India^ and
sparingly those of South India; common in Arracan, and extends
southward to the Malayan peninsula. A few visit Lower Bengal in
the cold season.
3. P.flammetis ; Muscicapaflammea, Forster, figured in Pennant's
' Indian Zoology,' also in Swainson's Illustrations, and more recently
by Mr. Jerdon : M, sub/lava, Vieillot ; Phcenicornis elegans, (?)
McClelland and Horsfield, P. Z. 5. 1839, p. 156 ; August Flycatcher of
Latham, but the preceding species also referred to. Hab. South India
and Ceylon. The description and unpublished figure of P. elegans,
from Assam, would seem to indicate this species of Southern India.
4. P. brevirostris ; Muscipeta brevirostriSy Vigors and Gould.
Himalaya, and more sparingly the hill ranges of Central and Southern
India.
5. P. igneus, nobis : Malayan P. Jiammetis, auctorum, and pro.
bably of Temminck, p. c. 263.* Size small, barely larger than P.
peregrinus, the wing measuring but two inches and seven-eighths,
and the rest in proportion ; bill to gape five-eighths, and tarse nine-
sixteenths of an inch- Colour as in P. speeiosus, except that the outer
tail-feathers are less deeply red, and the wing. band is proportionally
* If this be the Muse, jffammea of Dr. Honfield's Javanese list, it would account
for hia describing what appears to be the irvtejiammea from Assam, by another
name.
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310 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172.
smaller ; the fore-part of the wing underneath, with the band as there
seen, is deep yellow, and the axillaries are yellow, irregularly tipped
with red. Altogether the red is of a shade more igneous than in P.
speciosus, but considerably less so than in P,flammeus. The female
I have not seen. Described from Malacca specimens.
6. P. Solaris,* nobis, it. s. Length about seven inches and a half, of
wing three and three-eighths, and tail four inches ; bill to gape five,
eighths, and tarse nearly five-eighths. Male fuliginous-ashy above,
verging to black on the wings, and quite black on the tail ; the rump,
wing-spot, greater portion of the three outer tail-feathers, and the
under, parts, bright reddish flame-colour (or as in P. Jlammeus) ;
throat orange. yellow, and the ear-coverts pale grey: bill and feet
blackish. The female has the head dark ashy, like the male, but the
back olive-green, and the flame-colour of the male is replaced by
yellow ; sides of the throat whitish. The bill of this species is broader
and shorter than in the others. It is common at Darjeeling.
7. P. roseus; Muscicapa rosea, Vieillot: Phcenicornis affinis,
McClelland and Horsfieldt. Not rare in Lower Bengal ; and occurs
also in Assam, Arracan, and in the forests of Malabar.
8. P, peregrinus ; Parus peregrinus, Lin. India generally.
9. P. erythropygius ; Muscicapa erythropygia, Jerdon : Cawnpare
Flycatcher, and Turdus speciosus, var. B., of Latham. — South India,
Upper Bengal. (?) This is a very aberrant species, and even separable
as a subgroup ; deviating, as remarked by Mr. Jerdon, in ** its more
depressed bill, weaker legs and feet, and in the mode of variation of
the female. In its colour," he adds, *' the male resembles most of the
species of PericrocotuSy except in having a white stripe on the wings,
and on some of the tail-feathers. The female differs from the male
in having ashy.brown instead of glossy-black, and cinereous. white
where the male has bright orange-red. The irides also are light-
coloured." It seems, in fact, to be an intermediate form between
Pericrocolus and Hemipus of Hodgson (p. 305 ante) ; near which latter
Mr. Jerdon formerly arranged it, considering it allied to H. picaiusX,
• Id some collectionB which have gone to Europe, I have called this speciet P.
Aavogularis, MS,
t Identified from Dr. McClelland's unpublished figures.
X Add» as a doubtful member of the group, P/uBnicomist aureopygia, A. Hay, from
Hongkong; Madr, Joum, No. XXXI, 158: also, probably, Lanius crttentus of the
Diet, Class, D'Hist, NaU^ from Java.
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Eurylaimua, Honfield. This group, the geographic limitB of which,
according to Mr. Swainson, *' seem to be restricted to the hottest parts
of India/' is only admissible into the Fauna Indica from the occur-
rence of two Himalayan species^ the range of both of which extends to
Assam, Sylhet, and Arracan. These birds are the Raya sericeogula
and R. rubropygia of Mr. Hodgson, J. A, S. VIII. 36; the former
standing as Psarisomus Dalhousia, (Jameson) Sw., and the latter
falling under Mr. Swainson's Serilophus, being very closely allied to S.
lunatus, (Gould), for which it was mistaken in Proe. ZooL Soc. 1839,
p. 156. The differences are as follow : — 5. lunatus has the whole upper,
parts rufescent, including the crown and cheeks ; and it exhibits a re-
markable structure of the tips of its primaries, the third and fourth
especially, which terminate in acute points, as if artificially clipped,
while the secondaries and tertiaries are truncate, and strongly emar.
ginate at tip; moreover the third and fourth primaries are termi-
nated by a large triangular white spot, and the secondaries and tertiaries
have no white bar near the end of their outer webs:— *5. rubropygius
has the upper- parts deep ash-colour, with a faint rufescent tinge on
the back ; the primaries rounded at their tips, and narrowly termi-
nated with white; the secondaries and tertiaries slightly truncate
and emarginate at tips, with a triangular white spot near the end of
the black outer web of each, beyond which the colour is bluish-grey.
The white lunate mark tipping certain feathers of the sides of the neck
is alike in both species, and does not seem to be a sexual distinction,
but, I suspect, is attained after two or three moultings by both sexes.
S. lunatus occurs in the Tenasserim Provinces, where also are found
the Corydon sumatranus (which is the species described by Capt
Hay, in X, 575), — Eurylaimus javanicus (the range of which extends
northward to Arracan),— £u. ochromalus (v. cucullatus, Tem.), — and
Cymbirhynchus nasutus (v. lemniscatus. Raffles), all common
Malayan species, to judge from their frequency in collections from the
Straits.
Cymbirhynchus was separated by Mr. Vigors on account of the for.
ward position of the nostrils and some other particulars; and Mr.
Swainson lays much stress upon the vertical depth of its bill, which cer-
tainly is a marked feature in the common Malayan and Tenasserim
species (C. nasutus); but there is a very closely allied species in
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312 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172.
Arracan, which, until I had obtained a good series of both, I declined
to venture on distinguishing, but which I shall now designate
C. afinis, nobis. In this, while the general characters and colouring
are the same as in C. nasutus, the bill is invariably much smaller and
flatter, as in the restricted Eurplaimi, but the nostrils are placed for.
ward as in the other. The general dimensions are also less, the usual
length of wing in C affinis being three inches and a half, rarely thre*
and five^^ighths, and the middle taiU feathers three inches ; in C. namtius
the wing measures three and seven-eighths to four inches, and the tail,
three and five-eighths to three and three-quarters. C. affinis has also,
constantly, an obloug red spot margining the tip of the outer web of
two of its tertiaries, and a third margining the inner web of the up.
permost tertiary : in what appear to be the females, the latter spot is
red as in the supposed males, while the former are white : these spots
do not occur in C. nasutus. Lastly, the white upon the tail is more
developed in C. ejinis, and placed nearer the tips of the feathers: a
white spot at the base of the inner primaries is also larger and more
conspicuously shewn.
If the affinity of the Eurytaimi with the South American Pipridas
admit of doubt, the question would seem to turn on the relationship of
the former for Calyptomena; for this Malayan genus appears truly to
approximate to Pipra and more especially to Rupicola.* Mr. Swainson
distinguishes two species of Calyptamena {Lardner's Cyehpcedia, * Me.
nageries', p. 296), as C. Rafflesii and C. caudactUa; and he assigns
India as the habitat of the latter, erroneously unless by that word he
means vaguely '^ the East Indies'*, a term now rapidly and properly fall-
ing into disuse. Notwithstanding, however, the difference in the form of
the tail, and which is not so great as Mr. Swainson represents it, I feel
satisfied that his C. eaudcteuta is the young of C. viridis. Raffles, who
states that '* the female does not differ in appearance from the male."
The tail is a little graduated in these presumed young birds, but I have
never been able to recognise the pointed form of the feathers represent,
ed by Swainson, nor the difference of size which he indicates ; indeed
* Another Malayan genus with syndactyle feet, and which I have not yet i
is the Crataionyx of Eyton, P. Z, S. 1839, p. 104: and to judge from the brief Latin
definitions of his two species, Cr, JIavus and O. ater^ I think there is every reason
to suppose them to be the sexes mer^y of the same species.
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he adds, as a note, that he had entertained saspicions that C. catida-
cuta was merely the young of the other ; but continues — " and yet the
different form of its tail-feathers is so totally opposed to this supposi-
tion, that until such a similarity" (meaning specifical identity) '' is
established beyond all doubt, I must continue to hold the opinion
here acted upon." That his C. caudaeuta is a bird in immature
plumage, I feel no doubt whatever ; and I can only say, that I have
again and again seen it associated with adult C. viridis in Malacca
collections, the two being evidently intended by the dealers who
prepare these collections for male and female of the same.*
Near the Pipridce of course rank the AmpelidcB, to which Mr.
Hodgson refers his genus Coehoa (since called by him Prosorinia),
V, 359, XII, 450; but this remarkable genus wants one noted charac-
ter of the Ampdidce, (including the Waxwings) and Pipridce, in
common with various other South American groups, having the
first primary but one third of the length of the second, which again is
considerably shorter than the third. Of the two species, C. purpurea
seems common in the S. £. Himalaya, as at Darjeeling ; C. viridis,
decidedly rare. For a specimen of this latter beautiful bird, the
Society is indebted to the lady of W. H. Oakes, Esq., C. S. ; and the
late Mr. Webb, of Darjeeling, among numerous other specimens with
which he favoured the Society (including Alcedo grandis. Accentor
mollis, Pericrocotus Solaris, Troglodytes punctatus, Tesia pusilla,
Pomatorhinus ferruginosus, Certhia discolor, Chleuasicus ruficeps,
and other novelties yet to be described), obliged us with what is
evidently a male, in nestling plumage, of C. purpurea^ which is
worthy of a particular notice. The wings and tail are as in the
adult male; but the back is quite black, the scapularies and smaller
wing-coverts having a central brown spot on each feather ; coronal
feathers broadly tipped with white, having a black margin at their
extreme tips; a portion of the ear-coverts similarly marked with
white ; and the entire under.parts are light ferruginous, with a broad
black tip to each feather, less developed on those of the middle of the
throat. The plumage of the back, scapularies, and under-parts^ recals
to mind that of a young male English Blackbird.
* Since writing the above, I have had an opportunity of examining several dozens;
and should remark that I could find no instance of a transitional moult, or indeed of
any moulting bird among them.
2 T
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314 Notices and Description of various New [No. 172.
Po8T8CBiFT.*»A farther collection of Cingalese birds has just been re-
ceived from Dr. Templeton, including some of considerable interest, — ^aa
the Gallus stanleyi of Gray, hitherto I believe only known from Hard-
wicke's published figure of the hen, — and the Tetras bicalcaratus of Pen*
nant, which is quite distinct from the ' Curria Partridge' of Latham (Per-
dijf benulasa, Val., v. Hardwickii, Gray, and Francolinus spadiceus. Ad.
Delessart), but ranks with the latter and G, spadiceus in my genus GaUo-
perdix, which represents, in India^ the Polyplectrons of the countries
eastward, to which they are much more nearly allied than is generally
suspected.'*' Col. Sykes thought he recognised the Gallus stanleyi in
what he terms a short-legged variety of G. sonneratii, occurring at an
elevation of 4000 feet above the sea on the Malabar coast ; but Mr.
Jerdon and other subsequent observers know of but one species of
jungle-fowl in that part of the country — the ordinary G. sonneratii, and
the females of this bird have not (as Col. Sykes states) the " cartilagin-
ous spots on the feathers," but young males have, when in plumage
otherwise resembling that of the females. Moreover, G. stanleyi is
quite as high on the legs as G, sonneratii ; and, lastly, Mr. Jerdon has
found no indications whatever of G. sonneratii having ever been domes-
ticated, such as would have appeared in the plumage of its tame de-
scendants— or of its having mingled its blood with the ordinary domes-
tic stock, as Col. Sykes' remarks lead me to suppose.
It is worthy of notice that specimens of Acridotheres tristis from
Ceylon are considerably darker-coloured than any I have seen from the
mainland of India ; whence the contrast between the vinaceous-brown
of the body and the blackish hue of the neck is very much less decided,
and the white of the vent and lower tail-coverts is in like proportion
more strongly contrasted with the blackish vinaceous colour of the
breast and flanks.
A similar relationship seems to hold between Dierurus leueopyyuUit
(p. 298 ante) of Ceylon, and D. aerulescens of continental India : the
latter I have never observed to vary ; but some specimens of the Cin-
galese bird have the corresponding portion of the abdominal region albes-
* This affinity is well exemplified by the general plumage of the females, and by
the vertical carriage of the tail, as well as by the form of beak irregular number of
spurs, &c. The Polyplectron NorthuB^ of Hardwicke*s ' Illustrations' is thus the
female of OaUopercUse spadiceus. Ithaginis of Wagler, with which Mr. Q. B. Gnj
confounds these birds, is an allied, but very distinct division.
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1846.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 315
cent, which in the continental race is pure white ; the upper-parts being
also a shade blacker ; and the bill (as previously remarked) seems always
to be more strongly falcate at tip than in 2>. carulescens. The average
dimensions, too, of the continental race are decidedly greater.
Pofnatorhinus horsfieldii of South India has an analogous representa-
tion in P. melanurus, nobis, of Ceylon, which I shall describe with
other species of this genus. Though approximating very closely, it is
as well characterized as several admitted species of Malacocercus,
From these and similar instances, it would appear as if several species
had a tendency to become more intensely coloured towards the equator ;
Gallus bankinus of Malacca is much deeper- coloured than that of India :
and the difference of Halcyon capensis of India and of Malacca (pointed
out in XIV, 190) is so marked that Mr. Jerdon proposes to oall the
Indian bird H. brunniceps (Madr, Joum. No. XXXI, 143 ;) but if con-
sidered distinct, it would" bear the prior name of H, gurial, (Lath.)
Pearson, X, 633."*" Our little tailor-bird of India (Orthotomus longi-
Cauda) occurs, but of a considerably darker colour, at Malacca, and to-
gether with two other species of its genus, Orth, edela and 0. cinera-
ceus, I could mention two or three more instances ; but nevertheless,
in the great majority of cases, examples of the same species from the
most various localities are absolutely similar.f
(To be continued J
Notes, chiefly Geological, from Seringapatam, by the Hegulla PasSy to
Cannanore. By Caft. Nbwbold.
The geology of the country around Seringapatam I have already no-
ticed, j: Having passed its walls, my route lay westward over a strong,
kunkerous, uneven, and rather sterile tract to Hussairpore (eighteen
miles), on the banks of the Lachmi Thirth stream, a tributary to ihe
Cauvery, where stands a ruined bungalow, built by the Hon. Arthur
Cole.
Hussairpore,— 'The formation is a micaceous gneiss with veins of
quartz, and beds of the same mineral, evidently interstratified with the
layers of gneiss. These beds, on weathering, leave the surface soil
* The Malacca H, capensis is also smaller than its Indian representative.
t On the question of the very close approximation of numerous allied species, tick
Agassiz, in the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, 1842, p. 97.
X Madras Joamal, January 1840, pp. 129—33.
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316 Noies, chiefly Geological, [No. 172.
covered with their angular and rust-stained fragments. Glimmering
hornblende rock, veined with milky quartz, and a pale flesh-coloured
felspar alternate with the gneiss. The outgoings of two or three dykes
of basaltic greenstone are passed on the roadside. The surface of the
country from Seringapatam gradually rises as it approaches the ghauts.
Periapatam. — This place is twenty-five miles westerly from Hus-
sairpore, and forty-three miles from Seringapatam. It stands on the
rise of the western ghauts from the table lands of Mysore, on the
frontier of the wild territory of Coorg. To the west the scenery is
mountainous and clothed with forest ; fifteen miles to the north rises
Bettadapore to the supposed height of 6,000 feet, one of the loftiest
summits of this part of the western ghauts : the elevation of Periapatam,
barometrically calculated, is 4,000 feet above the sea's level.
The country between Hussairpore and the ghauts is a succession of
rocky risings and falls of the surface, covered for the most part with
reddish alluvial soil, over the face of which are scattered numberless
angular fragments of the surrounding rocks; especially white and
iron-stained quartz, and occasionally kunker. Some of these alluvia
have not travelled far, since we often find the colour of the surface
soil a true index to the nature of the rock beneath : viz. dark-red or
coffee-coloured soil over hornblende rock and trap ; light-red to sandy
soil over gneiss and granite ; light greenish.grey over talc-schist, and
white, or what is nearly white, over felspar and quartz rocks.
The quartz beds, being usually harder than their neighbours, are
written in white bas-relief characters over the face of the country.
They never weather — like the felspars, hornblendes, and micaceous
rocks — into clay, but usually break up into fragments by imperceptible
fissures, into which water, impregnated with iron from the surrounding
weathered rocks, soon insinuates itself and stains the rock. At length
the particles, composing the fragments themselves, lose their cohesion,
and break up into an angular gritty sand.
In the low grounds, intervening between the rocky swells, is a black
or dark-coloured mould, which I should hesitate to call regur. It ap-
pears to me to be the result, first of vegetation produced by water rest-
ing there (like the oases of the desert), and finally of artificial culture,
manuring, &c.
In these vallies flourish groves of palms and wild dates ; and here
the ryot carries on his simple process of cultivation.
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At Periapatam itself, basaltic greenstone is seen in the bed of a
nullah crossing the gneiss and hornblende rock, and veined with
kunker. Large blocks of fine red granite are seen in the rained fort
walls, brought evidently from no great distance.
The ghaut line west of Periapatam presents a succession of round-
backed hills and smooth knobs» which continue to Verajunderpetta in
Coorg. Their surface is covered with dark vegetable mould, and
shaded by a fine forest, the roots of which strike into the red loam or
clay on which the vegetable mould rests. It produces excellent san.
dal wood for which Periapatam is a depot. It was formerly the capital
of Coorg, but fell under the Mysore Rajas in 1744, A. D. A little to
the west, General Stewart in 1799, with two regiments of Europeans
and three of Native Infiintry, repulsed the Mysorean army under the
personal command of Tippoo. The fort was blown up during the
preceding campaign in 1790 by Tippoo, in anticipation of General
Abercrombie's advance from Cannanore.
Verajunderpetta. — About eight miles from Periapatam the Mysore
frontier is crossed into Coorg. The soil is so thick as to cover the
rocks of the ghauts from observation in most part, and the dense forest
adds to the difficulty of getting a good expos4 of the strata. In one
place I saw gneiss veined with a fine crystalline reddish granite. Both
rocks rapidly weather from the moisture and heat of the climate.
A well, dug on the side of the road, exhibited a stratum of red
clayey loam, about five feet thick, underneath which lay a bed of gra-
velly local detritus ; about three feet below which, was gneiss with
much silvery mica. The gneiss was penetrated by a large granite
vein which appeared on the summit of the hill in blocks. This gra~
nite passed into pigmatite. Scattered blocks of hornblende rock, and
basaltic greenstone also occur, the outgoings of dykes or beds.
Laterite. — About seven miles east of Verajunderpetta, I first observ.
ed laterite capping, and partially covering, a small round-topped hill.
Its surface was bare, and cleared by the rains of the ochreous and
lithomargic earths, which usually fill the cavities, and keep soft and
sectile the weather-protected under-lay ers of this rock. It had almost
the dark scabrous aspect of an iron slug in some parts, but in others,
might be seen distinctly passing into the sectile lithomargic laterite,
so much used in building. Like sandstones and other rocks, it varies
in mineral composition even in the same mass— being, in one place,
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318 Notes, chiefly Geological, [No. 172.
argillaceous or felspathic ; in another, quartzose ; now^ so ferruginous
as to pass into clay ironstone ; and at another time, presenting nothing
but a bed of compact iithomarge.
The soil in the flats and vallies, where the Coorgs cultivate rice, is
generally of a pale ochreous colour ; and is clayey from the disintegra-
tion of the felspars which prevail now in the hypogene rocks. Frag,
ments of quartzy iron, aggregated garnets, and quartz, mica slate,
schorl and kaolin were picked up loose on the road.
Junction of laterite with granite. — The hill on which the Coorg
Raja's palace stands at Verajunderpetta is of granite, capped with late-
rite. This granite is composed of a brownish felspar, resembling that
of Mount Horeb, of quartz, black mica, and hornblende. The line of
superposition is seen on the descent towards the Portuguese Chapel.
The granite is hard and crystalline at the junction, and not in the
least soft or friable, as it would have been had the mass of laterite,
which caps it, been nothing more than its weathered (in siid) upper
portions ; as supposed by many theorists and speculators on the origin
of this singular rock.
Quarries of laterite, — At a little distance are the quarries whence the
blocks of laterite used for building are excavated. The laterite here
lies under a thick layer of moist turfy earth, which keeps its surface
from hardening under the sun's rays or atmospheric exposure, and is
80 soft and sectile as to be cut out with the Indian spade, like turf
from a peat bog.
The /onrn.*— The palace of Verajunderpetta was built only two
generations ba<*k, by the then Raja of Coorg, whose name it now bears.
It is a large building, partly in the European style, on the top of a
hill or rising ground to the west of the Pettah. The portico is sup-
ported by two elephants, twelve or fourteen feet high, constructed of
stucco and brick, over iron frames.
The woodwork, glazed windows, roof, and every thing about the
palace, is finished in a massive style ; and convenient outhouses are
enclosed, with the palace, within a high and massive wall.
The town is said to contain about 300 houses, inhabited princi-
pally by the Coorg Lingayet cultivators of the soil, a few Telingas,
Bengalis, Mussulmans, and a flock of Roman Catholic Chrutians
(about 100), under their Portuguese pastor. There are two Jw^m
maths*
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1846.] from Seringapatam, to Cannanore. 319
The honses are neat, usually thatched, and shaded hy a small ve-
randah in front : all romantically situated in a sylvan amphitheatre,
surrounded hy mountain peaks and ridges.
It being market day, the bazar was so crowded that I could scarcely
pass. Here were Mapillays groaning under bundles of odoriferous
lalt-fish from Malabar and Canara, and hundreds of bullocks laden with
salt fronoi Cannanore and Tellicherry, which is sold all over Mysore.
Then came the Coorg market people from their sequestered villages,
with bags of rice and paddy, baskets of eggs, fruits, fowls, dec. &c.
The clean, neat, white dress of the Coorg females is pleasingly con-
trasted with the gaudy dark petticoats of the wandering Brinjaris,
who never wash or change this article of dress until it drops off,
heavy with filth and vermin.
The Coorg men generally wear a sort of smock-frock, like the Baju of
a Malay or Bedouin woman, and usually go armed with their peculiar
knives which serve as weapons of defence, and also to clear the jungles
they daily tread.
The larger of these knives (a sort of hatchet), is carried unsheathed
in a brass socket, attached to the btelt on the right side ; the smaller is
in front.
The Coorg does not differ much in feature from the Mysorean^ but is
invariably fairer, from the sandy forest and moist climate in which he
lives. He is grave in manner, and in general studiously civil to Euro-
peans. They are nearly all Lingayets, and I observed many of them
worshipping the numerous images of the Indian Apis-Nundi, set up in
in the recesses of the forest.
Like the i\lalays, they usually live in separate campongs, on the
edge of the rising swells which divide the rice fields, and which are
well shaded by cocoa, jack, and other fruit trees.
The HeggtUla Pass — From Verajunderpetta to the top of the Heg.
gulla Pass, is about five miles of forest, ascent and descent, but rising
on the whole to the edge of the pass at Bokerah.
Gneiss — in some places overlaid with laterite and penetrated by
dykes of basaltic greenstone — massive hornblende rock, and glimmering
hornblende schist, are the rocks seen both in detached blocks, and tn
sUH at this watershed of the great line of elevation. The dense na.
ture'of the jungle and the rain which now began to pour down, were
great obstacles to a full examination of the geological features of this
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820 Notes, chiefly Geological, [No 172. ^
chain : a few angular blocks of a large grained, and a syenite, granite
were also seen.
The descent to the foot of the pass is about six miles, and extremely
steep. At its upper extremity I observed in a road section, first a thin
layer of dark vegetable mouldy then a thick bed of red clay, under
which lay a stratum of laterite. Farther down in the pass, gneiss ouu
cropped. Some of the cavities, in the laterite, contained a black bole.
Fragments of white quartz, imbedding large crystals of felspar, often
pinkish, were picked up imbedding a silvery- white mica, in large plates.
Farther down the pass I did not see the laterite. Hornblende schist
with garnets of a massive thick-bedded structure was the prevalent
rock. This had often been blasted to improve the road ; and the beds
of clay, which covered it, had been removed, exhibiting the different
stages of weathering which this rock undergoes.
Blocks of this kind not only often exhibit a concentric structure
like that of granite, but still oftener a pseudo internal structure, from
weathering internally in layers conformable to their exterior surfaces.
Fragments, several feet in diameter, are seen thus weathered ; with
nothing but a dark crystalline nucleus of the rock in its original state
in the centre, to tell us what the variegated soft mass before us once
was. Even the nucleus disappears before the ravages of this maladie
dugranit in due time.
This decay does not commence from the core, but from the exterior
of the block, whence it sinks by successive phases from the circam-
ference towards the centre.
The effect of these different stages of decay is to produce, in the
substance of the block, differently coloured bands, one within another,
(like the lines of agate) often arranged around a nucleus of sound
dark crystalline hornblende rock in the centre. The first band around
this nucleus is of a grey colour, from the felspar whitening, and the
segregation, &c. of the iron, which coloured it. The hornblende
crystals are little affected, and the felspar is often seen running among
them in whitish reticulation.
The next band exhibits the rock in a state of greater decay. In
this the hornblende crystals have commenced to oxidize; and, without
mingling with the felspar, assume an orange-brown hue, still mottled
slightly with dark specks This band has a mottled appearance, and
resembles a w&thered granite.
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1846.] /roM Seringapatam, to Cannanare. 321
The third stage shows the felspar reduced to a white clay, and the
oxidated hornblende crystals losing their shape, spreading their colour-
ing matter in irregular patches through the clay. Where nests of
garnets occur, their disintegration imparts a crimson.mottled appear-
ance, often seen in the white lilhomargic earths of the ghauts. The
faint violet, or lilac-coloured, spots result from the decay of amethystine
qaartx or other minerals, impregnated with manganese which imparts
this beauttfal colour : mica u^ially imparts a light bright.red.
Lastly, the whole of the colouring matter—iron, titanium, and man.
ganese — become equally doused through the day, which is now either
of a light ocfareous- brown colour, or reddish-brown, according to the
greater or less ferruginous character of the rock. Where quartz prevails
the decayed mass is more friable and earthy, and the colours are in
general lighter than in the days resulting entirely from the disintegnu
tion of felspar rock ; a fact probably to be attributed to the action of
the alkali, contained in the latter mineral, on the metallic oxides.
The red variety of clay prevails most on the hornblendic rocks
of the Heggulla pass: near the base of the pass it lies in a stratum
twelve feet thick, imbedding angular blocks of hornblende rock, fast
decaying.
It rests immediately on hornblende rock in siitl, and is covered by
a light brown earth, of mixed alluvial and decayed vegetable matter,
intersected by rooto of trees, shrubs and grasses, and three or four feet
thick.
The roots of the larger forest trees descend into the clay bed, which
is sometimes intersected by crumbly veins of white quartz, which may
be seen continued into the substance of the clay from the subjacent
bed of rock ; proving the disintegration to have taken place in siiti ;
and that these clay beds are not the result, in general, of aqueous
transportation. Where much iron and quartz prevail, the clay is apt to
become cellular, an appearance which must not induce observers to
confound it with true laterite. The pass is much steeper than those
of Devamunni, Hossamucki, and Bisly, farther north, but is never-
theless practicable for lightly laden bullocks. The Bombay army, in
1791,. advanced towards Mysore by this route, and expended two days
in dragging twenty light field guns up two miles, and three weeks
to bring up fourteen battering guns with their tumbrils, none heavier
than eighteen-pounders. Near the bottom of the pass, the true laterite
2u
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322 Notes, chiefly Geological, SfC. [No. 172.
18 found, which, from the base, coven the low hills and knolls westerly
to Vyathoor.
Siany River : /ooi of Hegg%dla pass.-^ln the bed of this river lie
large irregular blocks of massive hornblende rock with garnets, and a
granite with both mica and hornblende, evidently rolled down (like
those on the slope of the pass«) from the adjacent heights. The horn-
blende rock is usually crystalline, but there occur globular masses of
compact basaltic greenstone, with needle-shaped crystals of augite
shooting irregularly through its substance ; those probably are from
some large dyke in the vicinity. The garnet occurs both massive,
dodecahedral, and semi-foliated ; the last is the most common variety.
Fyathoor. -^The Coorg frontier is crossed into Malabar, close to the
Stony river, from which the first Malabar village, Vyathoor, is about
five and a half miles distant, and about twenty-nine and a half miles
inland from Gannanore. The adjacent country is rocky, and covered
with jungle: laterite continues capping the granitic and hypogene
rocks, principally granitic hornblende schist. The beds of the mountain-
streams abound with fragments of garnet. I found none of the crystal-
lized specimens of any magnitude. Magnetic iron-sand also is found
in their beds in small quantities. The Moplay town of Ercoor lies
about eleven miles farther, on a fine clear stream, called the Rokaat,
which debouches near Mount Delli at Markaree. The houses have
upper stories, are built of laterite, and have a remarkably substantial
and neat appearance.
Cudulfy.^^ThiB place is about ten miles inland from Gannanore.
The surface of the country is rugged and uneven, with low hills and
clifb of laterite, and still covered with luxuriant jungle. In many
places the jungle has been fired, leaving the black precipitous tabular
masses of laterite, which cap them, exposed. The hornblende schist is
still seen in low situations. Black pepper, betel and rice, are exten-
sively cultivated.
Caitnanor^.— -Nearer Gannanore, passes are cut through high diOt of
laterite, and steps planed down the sides of the terraces, which descend
towards the sea coast. Hornblende schist veined with quarts is still
seen as the underlying rock. At Gannanore, the laterite terminates in
high, sea- washed cliffs.
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JOURNAL
ASIATIC SOCIETY,
On the Coins of the Independent Muhammadan Sovereigns of Bengal,
By J. W. Laidlat, Esq.* Co-Secretary Asiatic Society,
Some months ago, as most of the readers of this Journal are perhaps
aware, the greater part of the collection of ancient coins belonging to
the Asiatic Society was abstracted horn the Moseom, and along with
these, a valuable gold medal, the gift of the present Bmperor of Russia.
About the time when this unfortunate event occurred, I was engaged in
arranging a series of the coins of the independent Muhammadan sove-
reigns of Bengal, and had reason to believe, that with the assistance of
the Society's cabinet, which contaiaed many rare and unique specimens
of that type, I should succeed in filling the gaps in my own collection,
and render the series tolerably complete. As misfortunes, however,
rarely happen singly, it occurred that just about the same time, my own
little cabinet sustained a similar loss. At a moment of neglect,-— for
we have in general but our own negligence to blame for mishaps of this
nature, — ^nearly the whole of my gold and silver coins, including many
nniques, and almost all of the series now under consideration, a series
which had employed many years and much labour to collect, were
purloined from my cabinet, those of copper only being spared to me,
as being of too little intrinsic value to be worth the labout of removal.
No. 173. No. 89. New Seriis. 2 x
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324 On the Coint of the Independent [No. 173.
The ooins which record the names of the obscure Muhammadan
dynasties of Bengal have, it must be confessed, nothing in common with
the high interest attached to the relics of ancient India and Bactria,
which bring us in contact with times and persons of classical renown ;
or illustrate those dark but profoundly interesting periods in the world's
history, upon which the light of tradition fells but dimly. Yet, even in-
dependently of their more important use in correcting or in confirming
the narrative of the historian, they have an interest of their own in their
very rarity, which is such, that it is far easier to procure the coins of
Alexander or his successors, than those of the Sultans of Bengal, of
whom indeed few other monuments, and scarcely even these, remain. Of
Oour, or Laknauti, the once vast and magnificent seat of their govern-
ment, the capital whose wealth and splendour chumed for it the title of
the ' seat of paradise,' scarce a vestige is ta be seen : over its entire site,
once instinct with thronging multitudes, nature has resumed her quiet
sway, and the last traces of the mighty city are fast disappearing under
the peaceful labours of the husbandman.
It is with the view of preserving a few authentic memorials of a dynasty
of kings, of whose history so little is known, that I venture to submit
a series of such coins as escaped the disasters above alluded to, or were
happily figured before them. Some of these are in less perfect preser-
vation than is desirable ; but let us hope, that such collectors as may be
in possession of better specimens, will be induced to supply impressions
of them, by means of which, these defects may be remedied on some
future occasion.
The first of the Muhammadan rulers of Bengal who attained any
thing approaching to real independence was Iliyas Shah, who success-
fully resisted the arms of Feroz Shah, and concluded a treaty of peace
with that Emperor at Akdala, a. h. 757. He caused the coin of \m
kingdom to be struck in his own name, the least equivocal sign of inde-
pendent soveieiglity, without experiencing that immediate interference
on the part of the Emperor of Delhi which attended all similar manifes-
tations of his predecessors. In this respect, as well as in the permanence
of his dynasty, IHyas Shah must be regarded as the first independent
Sultan of Bengal ; for his predecessor Fakhar ud-din, who is generaily
considered so by native historians, had scarcely thrown off his allegiance
to Delhi, when his unstable authority was subverted by Ali Mobarik, an
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1846.] Muhammadan Sovereigns ef Bengal. 325
officer acknowledging the supremacy of the emperor, who put him to
death and himself assumed the emblems of independence. His reign,
however, if a short usurpation may be so designated, was soon terminated
by lliyas Shah, who assassinated Fakhar ud-din, and took possession
of the kingdom, which he governed with vigour for sixteen years, and
transmitted to his descendants. The coins Nos. 1 and 2 were struck by
this prince ; they bear no date, and their execution is sufficiently rude —
Obvsbsb.
RSVKBSB.
He* died in a. h. 760, and was succeeded by his son Sekandar Shah.
This prince reigned, according to Ferishteh, for nine years and some
months, maintaining by the prudent adoption of his father's policy,
the independence and integrity of his kingdom, when the utmost efforts
of Feroz Shah were once more put forth to reduce him to a state of
vassalage. No. 3, is a coin of Sekandar. It is in good preservation,
and was procured at Santipore, near Culna. It records the titles and
paternity of this prince, but no date —
Obvbbsb.
Rbvbbsb.
The inscription on the margin is not legible. Sekandar Shah died,
or according to some, was killed in an engagement with his son and
successor Gheias ud-din, in a. b. 76d.
Nos. 4 and 5, are coins of the last named Sultan. As usual with the
coinage of that period, they bear no date —
* Before ascending the throne he was known as Heyi lliyas ; he is said to have
founded the town of Hiyypore.
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326 Oil the Coins of the Independent [No. 173.
Obvsbsb.
RsysBSS.
Gheias ud-din seems to have been a gay and accomplished prince. He
was in correspondence with the poet Hafiz, who addressed an ode to
him. He died according to Ferishteh a. b. 775, having re^ed six
years and some months.
His son Seif ud-din succeeded on the throne with the pompous title
of Sultan Assulatin. I have not been fortunate enough to procure any
coins of this monarch, but copy that figured No. 6, from Marsden's
' Numismata Orientalia*~^
Obvbbsb.
Rbvbbse.
Historians ascribe to him a reign of ten years. He died in a. b. 785,
and was succeeded by his son Shams ud-din Sani, the last of a dynasty
unusually long in those times. The author of the Tabq&t-i-Akbari,
Nizam ud-din Ahmed, ascribes a short but prosperous reign to tlus
prince; but Ferishteh describes him as young and inexperienced;
from which we may infer, that he was most probably assassinated by his
successor, a powerful Hindu nobleman, named Raja Kanis, (Ganesa ?)
No coins have been found of Shams ud-din Sani, who died in 787.
As Raja Kanis never openly embraced the Muhammadan ftdth, it is
most probable that he never issued the coin of the realm in his own
name. To have omitted the usual symbols of Muhammadanisin
would have been a perilous experiment on the forbearance of the bigot-
ed followers of the prophet, and to insert them would have compro-
mised the Raja with the adherents of his own faith. Either alternative
was, perhaps, avoided by the issue of no new currency during his reigo,
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1846.] Bfuhammadan Sovereigns of Bengal. 327
which lasted seven years. He died in a. b. 794, and was succeeded
by his son Junmnl, or Cheitmal. This prince avoided the perplexities
of his father's anomalous position by summoning the nobles on the
death of Raja Kanis, and publicly professing his conversion to Islam,
which he artfully insinuated had taken place in his early youth, but had
remained unavowed in deference to his f&ther. He assumed with the
emblems of sovereignty, the title of Jellal ud-din Muhammad Shah.
There are, I believe, many of his coins bearing dates, according to Mars-
den, from 819 to 823, although the commencement of his rdgn is
fixed by historians in 795 and its termination in 812. The specimens
Nos. 7, 8, and 9, are very much defaced, and bear no date. The first
two are taken from impressions presented to me by the late James
Prinsep. The inscription upon the obverse seems the same in all —
and on the reverse in Nos. 7 and 9 ^^| ^\j &c. In No. 8, apparently
the Kalmeh. This prince took much pains to improve and adorn the
city of Oour, and there may be still some few remains of public build-
ings erected at his expence.
No. 10, is a coin of his son and successor, Ahmed Shah, who died
according to Ferishteh and Nizam ud-din, in a. h. 830 ; but this coin
does him the good service of prolonging his life to 836, which date it
bears. His reign, however, must as to its earlier part be curtailed by the
evidence of the dates on those of Jellal ud-din —
Obvsrsb.
^IkLJI sU «>4.flr« ^.t sU «>4^l
On the reverse, the Kalmeh and date :— ATI
After an interregnum of a few days, during which, a slave of the royal
household having usurped the throne, caused the sons of Ahmed Shah
to be murdered, and was afterwards destroyed himself. Nasir Shah, a
remote descendant of Iliyas Shah, the first of our series, was summoned
by the nobles from the plough, to which the adverse circumstances of his
family had driven him, to sit on the throne of his ancestors. Being
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328 On the Coins of the Independent [No. 173.
unable to record a royal paternity on his coinage, he seems to have con-
tented himself with the simple repetition of his name and title — ^^UaJL
sift yo\i in seven little circlets, occupying the obverse of his coin
No. 1 1 . The reverse is illegible. I have met with no other coin of this
prince.
The next king of Bengal recorded by historians is Barbek Shah,
whom they designate the son of Nasir Shah. But there is reason to
reject this affiliation as incorrect ; for Barbek Shah describes himself on
his coinage as the son of Mahmud Shah, as does also Yusuf, the son
of Barbek, as will be seen. The same Mahmud is also recorded on a
subsequent coin of Fatteh Shah. But historians make no mention
of such a prince. Can it be that his reign has been entirely overlooked
by history ? or did Nasir Shah, at any period of his liJFe subsequent to
ascending the throne, change his name for that of Mahmud ? There
are great difficulties in either view of the matter, but it does not seem
a very bold conjecture, considering the imperfect history of those times,
that Mahmud Shah may have been omitted in the roll of princes that
has reached us.* The remarkably long reign ascribed to Nasir Shah
seems to afford room enough for the interpolation of another king ; bat
on either supposition, I incline to ascribe to the father of Barbek Shah
the coin No. 12 ; for an impression of which, I was indebted to the kind-
ness of the late James Prinsep. The cufic characters on the reverse are
not usual upon the Bengal coinage ; but the small curclets, with the
monarch's name on the obverse, seem to establish a relationship between
this coin and the preceding one of Nasir Shah. The only words legible
on the obverse are —
On the reverse, the Kalmeh.
Of the coins of Barbek Shah, I have met with none ; but to render as
complete as possible the present series, I borrow that figured in phte
No. 13, from Marsden's work —
* That there is nothing very extravagant in this coigecture may be inferred from
the circumstance of the omission of one entire reign (that of the last Mahmud) by
Ferishteh. The reign of Yusuf Shah is in like manner omitted in the TabqAt-i-
Akbari ; but this may possibly be the fault of the transcriber who made the copy in the
Society's Library. Since the above was printed, I have met with a coin of Mahnnd,
which bears a strong family likeness to those of Fatteh Shah in the Plate.
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1846.] Muhammadan Sovereigns of Bengal. 329
Obtbbbe.
Rbvbrbb.
The Kalmeh and date 873.
The next. No. 14» is a coin of his son and successor Yusuf Shah.
For this handsome specimen I am indebted to the kindness of my friend
Mr. Maseyk of Junghipore, whose skill in the acquisition of these re-
lics is unrivalled. This coin confirms the affiliation of Barbek Shah,
and leaves no room to doubt that a prince named Mahmud Shah sat on
the throne of Bengal; but whether identical or not with Nasir Shah,
we have at present no monuments to determine. It is most singular,
however, that no mention should be made of this name in the history of
the times —
Obvbrsb.
Rbvbbsb.
The Kalmeh and date— MP iGljaL
After the death of Yusuf Shah, a youth of the royal family was raised
to the throne, with the title of Sekander Shah, but was, after a few
weeks, deposed for incapacity, and was succeeded by his uncle Fatteh
Shah. Historians do not mention the genealogy of this king ; but his
coins, Nos. 15 and 16, which are, as far as I am aware, unique, make him
the son of Mahmud Shah, and consequently the brother of Barbek
Shah. The inscription on these coins runs from reverse to obverse —
Fatteh Shah was killed according to Ferishteh, in a. h. 896, by
Barbek, a eunuch, who usurped the throne under the tide of Sultan
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330 On the Cains of the Independent [No. 173.
Shahzada, and reigned about eight months. He was, in his turn,
assassinated by an Abyssinian, named Mulk Andiel, who setting aside
the legitimate heir, a son of Fatteh Shah, assumed the royal authority
with the title of Feroz Shah. We must not be surprised if there remain
but few coins or other monuments of those barbarous and unsettled
times, when, as the Persian historian naively remarks, " to have killed
the murderer of the king was deemed in Bengal a sufficient title to the
vacant throne."* Of Sultan Shahzada there are no coins extant:
perhaps none were ever struck ; but Marsden has preserved one of
Feroz Shah, of which, to continue the series, I here give a copy —
Obvbrsb.
^j3aLJ\ sU ^^ vsM»^!> '^•^'s^
Rbvbssb.
♦ * ♦ ♦ ^LjJJ^ j^l ^^IfcJUJl
Date on the margin of the obverse — A^ V> 897.
At the death of Feroz Shah, he was succeeded on the throne by Mah-
mud Shah, stated by Ferishteh to have been his son. Of this prince
I have met with no coins ; at least with none that can be, with certainty,
ascribed to him. His reign was a very short one, and specimens of his
coinage are not likely therefore to be numerous. Amongst the coins
figured by Marsden, as those of the Patau dynasty of Hindoostan, is one
of Mahmood Shah, so palpably that of a Bengal king, that it is difficnlt
to imagine how it could be ascribed to any other. There is no date
upon it to enable us to fix it with certainty upon the son of Feroz Shah;
but the execution of the coin and the locale of coinage, ^tiUf^
of which several letters are legible, leave no doubt of the class to which
it belongs : and as there is no other Mahmud with whom he can be
confounded, unless it be the apocryphal father of Barbek (for the coins
of Mahmud, the son of Husein, are very distinct from this), I have little
doubt that this is the appropriate place for it —
\j 3^ ^ U \^>l£^ 9^y> ^ A^ rilio j^j ^\ oJL^ ^U ♦
FerUteh, jJL^ C^ ji ^J j^lsrf »^ «3^b ull^y ^ aSj! j ^J^.
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1846.] Muhammadan Sovereigns of Bengal, 331
No. 18. Obybhsb.
sl^ Ay^S^ JJ^JS!^1yJ} ^Si\^ l-JjJf jJ^^ JaWI vj;lkJUJI
Rbvbbss.
The reign of Mahmud Shah was a short one. In a. h. 900, he
was murdered by Seddee Badr Dewaneh, who ascended the throne with
the title of Moza£fer Shah. No. 19 is a coin of this execrable prince,
which Marsden has erroneously ascribed, as the foregoing, to the Patan
sovereigns of Hindoostan. In execution and other respects, it is so per-
fectly coincident with other Bengal coins, that there need be no hesita-
tion in appropriating it to the present king, the only one of the name
among those of Bengal-—
Obvbrsb.
Rbvbrsb.
The Kalmeh.
M ozaffer Shah reigned about three years, during which he rendered
himself hateful to his subjects by his many atrocities. He suffered in
turn the same fate which he had inflicted on his predecessor; and
Ala ud-din Husein Shah, a nobleman of distinguished but not royal
rank, ascended the throne by the usual path of blood. This prince
enjoyed a degree of authority and safety, which had not fallen to the lot
of any of his recent predecessors. Of his coins numerous specimens
are extant, bearing testimony by their number and variety, to his peace-
ful and prosperous government. Nos. 20 and 21, are two out of many
that have passed through my hands. The inscription continues from *
the reverse to the obverse —
2 Y
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332 On the CoinB of the Independent [No. 173.
Husein Shah reigned twenty-four years, and notwithstanding some
unjustifiable proceedings in the early part of his career, was deserredly
beloyed by his subjects, and respected by surrounding governments.
The emperor Sekandar, who had subdued the proyince of Behar,
marched against Husein Shah ; but found it conyenient to arrange a
treaty of peace with so vigorous a prinee, and withdraw towards Delhi,
ere the commission of aggression on either side rendered a friendly
adjustment impracticable. Ala ud-din died in 927 at Oour, where his
tomb still exists. Many monuments of this reign are scattered oyer the
country.
Husein Shah was succeeded by his son Nasrat Shah, or, as he ii
improperly styled by historians, Naaib Shalu From the accession of
this prinee may be dated the decline of the independent kingdom of Ben«
gal. The chronology of his reign is inyolved in much perplexity, which
unfortunately the dates upon the coinage of the times, do not assist in
unravelling. Historians seem to have fused the events of two reigns,
those of Nasrat Shah and his successor, into one ; and notwithstanding
their comparative recency, there is more uncertainty and confusion in
the history of those times, than in that of the earlier periods of the
kingdom. The coins Nos. 22 and 23. are two of several that have pasted
through my hands. They have no date, but their legend and the locale
of their coinage leave no doubt as to the propriety of their ascription to
this prince. The inscription reads from reverse to obverse —
Nasrat Shah came to the throne under the most favourable auspices,
as far at least as regarded the internal condition of his government as
bequeathed by his wise and vigorous father ; but from his cruel and
tyrannical disposition gave great disgust to his subjects and dependents.
He was assassinated by his own servants after a reign, (according to
historians) of eleven years. This would make the date of his death 938,
(according to others it was 940 or 943.) but this does not agree with
the date inscribed upon the next coin.
Nasrat Shah was succeeded by Mahmud Shah. This king is altoge-
ther omitted by the author of the Tabqftt-i-Akbari, who ascribes all
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PLTV.
Iivfl^t^p